Downfall
by Fox and McCloud
Summary: No matter how times change, the darker side of man and monster always struggle to be let free. Ash, a young man with dreams of joining the gladiatorial pokemon league, finds himself instead thrust into the middle of a far greater struggle.
1. Prologue

A new fandom, a new start. We'll see how it goes. For those interested, all of my other stuff can be found under vladtheinhaler. It's mostly Harry Potter, but some of you may cross-over with that particular fandom.

Firstly, I need to give credit to Sun Soul – easily the best pokèmon fanfic I have ever read (out of an admittedly very small pool) and one of the most well written and engaging fics in any fandom (a substantially wider selection). While the story I hope to tell differs significantly, I take from this story inspiration and hope, as well as an ideal of achievement in regards to a realistic world of pokèmon, where they are by nature powerful and dangerous monsters.

Readers will note that this story diverges from the television show more-or-less during episode 26. Or episode 25, wherein 26 features enough changes that it's already victim to the butterfly effect. Whichever you prefer. For backstory purposes, canon is as canon was. However, I ask you to bear with me on a few things:

Namely, that the show was designed to be enjoyed by young children, and thus aspects that are clearly unrealistic – even within the confines of a world overrun by sentient monsters that can breath fire and create huge torrents of water out of nothing – should be ignored. While the basic story up to this point is the same, Team Rocket has never been blasted by bolts of electricity thousands of feet into the air, Ash has never take a flamethrower to the face – or enough electricity to charge a small nation, for that matter. These things simply won't happen from here on out (or if they do, will have dramatic and permanent consequences), and it makes no sense for them to have ever occurred if the story is to attempt some sense of realism.

Smaller differences include character ages (same point, letting a ten year old fight and fight with potentially murderous monsters is a bad idea, and it generally makes for a dull protagonist) and probably a number of mutations to canon, but that's part of the fun, eh? Ash is also less outright stupid, though I've tried to keep some of his well... shall we say, density.

Nor does anyone fall over backwards because of something embarrassing.

That being said, I hope you like it. This is my first foray into the pokèmon fandom, and first non-bookbased fanfiction as well. I hope I've captured the tone (much harder when you can't simply mimic the original author). All criticism and commentary is welcome, though do understand that story-wise, I'm pretty set on where this is going.

Thank you and enjoy.

~ M


	2. Chapter 1

_Without question, the pokèball and the subsequent Pokèmon Transport Network was the most revolutionary development in the twentieth century – and quite possibly in the history of human civilization. For centuries, pokèmon held undisputed dominance over the planet, humanity limited to a scattering of heavily fortified and mostly isolated outposts connected by a very hazardous network of air ships and a limited number of protected roadways. While certain species of pokèmon have been domesticated with varying levels of success since recorded history, the overwhelming majority proved impossible to control, and even those working for man were only a step away from their natural, feral nature – even discounting the natural risk of working with such creatures at the best of times._

_Overtime, mankind began to close the gap against the monsters, technological and intellectual superiority making up for some of the shortfalls, and a commanding sense of unity and purpose amongst the various settlements closing the gap even further. Civilization began to progress – no longer permanently held back by waves of invasion and destruction._

_The events leading up to the invention of the pokèball are well known, even now, and so I see little need to go into too much depth into its origins at this time. Suffice it to say that following Doctor Akihabara's breakthrough, the ebb and flow of power between man and monster reversed considerably and at the time it was believed, irrevocably. The pokèball served a number of functions. Most obviously, it provided a near foolproof method of capture and containment of any specie of pokèmon. The original system was nowhere near as strong and stable as it would become – and even at its height the pokèball was never perfect. Yet the abilities were significant, both in relative and absolute terms. Even more profoundly however, the mechanical process inside the system changed the nature of the pokèmon on a near molecular level, ingraining them with a docility and compliance not found in even the most domesticated of creatures. Finally, and most remarkably, man was able to dampen the innate powers of the beasts, allowing control and proximity to pokèmon previously even to dangerous to interact with, let alone attempt to train._

_Most of this information was, of course, top-secret. While the end result soon enough became public knowledge, it soon became clear to the leaders of the Confederation of Free Cities that the ability to replicate the system would endanger the already fragile stability of the realm. Almost immediately, a number of unprecedented centralized and authoritarian measures were passed: it is here that one can trace the beginnings of the Indigo League and the bureaucratic sprawl that would run the Pokèmon Transportation Network._

_And so it began. With the power to raise a large, powerful army, mankind proved that its own intellectual prowess would overcome the overwhelming strength of nature. Large swathes of the continent previously too dangerous for settlement became dominated by the fledgling League, its mastery all but absolute. Those pokèmon which proved too dangerous to be subdued even now – the most notable being the Charizard Hoard of Cinnabar – were slaughtered to a one. Within a span of less than twenty-five years, all of Kanto south of the Lesser Moon Range and the Cerulean Cape was pacified. Commerce flourished along newly opened trade routes, leading to an economic and technological renaissance which in turn provided greater support for the League. And in the minds of most, pokèmon were no longer demons or monsters – but animals to be used for labor, or as pets, or as objects of study for Academia. And of course, for a culture so engrained with a perpetual fear of 'barbarians at the gates', it is hardly surprising that a sport revolving around forcing pokèmon to fight one another would be met with enthusiasm. Serving as both a unifying phenomena and a cheap way to monitor and train battle-ready pokèmon, the Pokèmon League became the most popular and profitable apparatus of the state, the leading trainers and their pokèmon treated as heroes. It was a time for celebration, after all; in fifty years, mankind had progressed further than it had in the past five-hundred._

_It would only take a fraction of that time for it to collapse once more, man's ingenuity the key to his destruction..._

_~Untitled Papers, source unknown_

_

* * *

_

Ash paced furiously around the enormous fountain, cursing his own brashness and that girl's – Erika, as fate would decide to kick him in the pants yet again - attitude toward him. He cursed, kicked the granite base, then cursed again as he pulled back his now injured foot. This always happened! He had only given his honest opinion after all, and he'd already been dragged along on the shopping trip from hell.

"It's really Misty's fault," he grumbled to himself, smacking his hat against his pants in frustration. He glared at the giant dome, just visible at the far end of the park, over the top of a large cluster of trees. "She knows that I can't enjoy a city until I've at least sized up the local gym. And _shopping!" _He spat the word, disgusted by it, before slumping down on the wall of the fountain. Pikachu rolled over, giving his friend and trainer a consoling pat on the arm before attempting to lie down on Ash's lap.

Ash jumped up, causing Pikachu to fall backwards, rolling once on the stone. "We'll make a challenge anyway!" He declared with renewed enthusiasm. "League rules state all gym masters must accept any legal challenger. Not liking gross smells isn't a reason to ban someone, so she _has _to fight." Ash looked at Pikachu, and gave the small yellow rodent a cocky grin when he noticed Pikachu matched his enthusiasm.

"So what do you say?" Ash asked, his eyes glaring daggers once more at the top of the gym.

Pikachu gave out an aggressive squeak, bounding forward and jumping onto Ash's shoulder, shaking his own tiny fist at the building.

"Right then, let's go!" He took a single purposeful step forward...

...And was greeted by mock applause, three figures stepping slowly out from behind a hedgerow. A man and a woman, both dressed in identical quasi-uniforms, though the ever-present red "R" that he had come to associate with them on the front of their shirts was conspicuously absent. The man was short, not much taller than Ash himself, with an almost luminescent shock of blue hair. The woman was taller, with an equally attention-seeking head of hair, though hers was a vibrant red that fell in a braid down her back. Her face was pinched and hard, though not unattractive, just... unsettling, like she was always sucking something bitter while smelling something foul.

Despite the fact that everything about them stuck out, it paled in comparison to the third member of the group – a Meowth walking on its hind legs, which in order to accomplish this forced it to move in an awkward half-limp, half-swagger.

"Team Rocket," Ash exclaimed warily, his stance suddenly guarded.

"He's on a roll today, isn't he James?" The woman said, her voice sharp and mocking. "Full of obvious statements. Whatever next?"

The man – James – snickered. "It's like I always say, Jessie, it's the Pikachu that has all the spark in their relationship." He gave a weak chuckle at his own joke.

"What do you want?" Ash asked, determined not to let them bait him. He wasn't in the mood for their regular antics, and shared a look with Pikachu. The rodent nodded, then jumped onto the ground next to Ash, static hissing in its cheeks.

"Woah now, let's not get hasty!" The Meowth interrupted, raising both front paws over its head in a show of surrender. "We ain't here to steal nothin' or get in any trouble... not with you anyway," he finished with a satisfied smirk.

"Thundersho–"

"No!" James whimpered, already cringing slightly. "Not again, please. We're serious. I still have spasms from the last time," he complained, looking up at Jessie. "They can't put enough insulation in these suits. I really think we ought to –"

"Shut up," she snapped at her partner, before turning back to Ash. "We've got a similar problem, and we can help each other," she said with forced calm, though she still looked angry enough to spit. "You need that badge if you want to ever compete in the League, and despite your hilariously naive optimism, it doesn't matter what the rules are, if there's nobody around to enforce them. And nobody's going to cross a gym leader in their own town."

"And believe me, we know everythin' there is to know about rules," Meowth added. "Can't be breakin' 'em if you don't know 'em, and we wrote the book on it."

"You wrote the book on losing," Ash replied lamely. Meowth raised a paw, claws flashing, before a warning hiss from Pikachu made him back down.

"What are you up to?" Ash finally asked, breaking the uneasy silence once more.

"If there's one thing I hate, it's pettiness," Jessie said at last with a long suffering sigh and not a trace of irony. "James and I might have tried to borrow a few things in town here a few years back, and it seems they still remember us... It wouldn't matter of course, but the new Gloom N°22 is only available here, and I want it."

Ash stared. He shared a look with Pikachu, then stared some more.

"So... you're going to help sneak me into the gym to get back at a town for remembering the time you shoplifted... because you hate _pettiness._ That's, that's..."

Both James and Meowth seemed to find the ground very interesting.

Anyone else, and he would have dismissed it as a ridiculous story. But Jessie and James were so notoriously _pathetic, _that he supposed it could be true.

And dammit, but he _really _needed that badge.

"Right then," he said at last, "what's the plan."

By the way James suddenly lit up, Ash realized this could only end badly for him.

"Well!" James spoke enthusiastically. "If there's one thing we do well, it's disguises! It's the one thing the boss doesn't complain about, at least," he said with slightly less assurance. "Anyway... We've got a full makeup kit with us – Jessie's, of course, and as you're not being watched by anyone outside the gym, you can pick up a dress and wig without drawing attention to yourself... much," he amended.

"So we dress you up like the little princess, and off ya go," Meowth snickered. "Once she throws out her first pokèmon, it doesn't matter what happens – even without league enforcement, she can't call off a battle once it's officially started, and there's nothing in the rules against being a cross-dresser."

"A cross... no, absolutely not!" Ash yelped. "Anyway, it would never work," he grumbled, turning to Pikachu for support. "I'm sixteen, I don't look like a girl at all. Course they'd know it was me!"

"Yeah, right," Jessie said snidely. "You're a skinny, runty brat. Making you into a girl is an insult to our talents, if anything. Keep your mouth shut and we can get you through."

"But if ya don't want our help – or that badge of yours – then don't worry about it. I'm sure we can make our presence known to these losers some other way," Meowth put in.

The trio began to walk away, leaving Ash shaking furiously in the knowledge that he was being played.

"Fine!" He called out, causing them to stop. "I'll do it, but any tricks and I'm calling it off. Deal?"

"Deal," Jessie replied, her smile wide and cold.

Ash wasn't sure whether to feel proud or humiliated when three hours later, he was ushered through the gym, surprise flashing briefly on his face followed by a bout of humiliation when nobody seemed to notice anything strange. He looked away, hoping he'd be mistaken for a shy or star-struck girl. It helped that his cheeks burned; this was truly beyond mortifying. He walked out onto the field, noticing that the interior of the gym was designed to appear like a small clearing within a grove. Large trees grew under the clear dome, reaching up towards the curved ceiling. On the right, a raised platform sat for spectators, though it too was surrounded by vegetation. He wasn't particularly impressed by it, but he knew better than to openly criticize this particular gym – the people here had a thin skin.

As if it couldn't get any worse, he spied Misty and Brock coming out of a small samples-shop that made up the far wall of the gym, accompanied by a number of girls who looked to work there. The throng moved to the spectators' gallery, and he could make out snippets of conversation, all of which seemed to be based on the upcoming fight and who 'she' was. Pikachu had agreed to hide within a pokèball, realizing that even as a girl, a trainer with a Pikachu on her shoulder could lead to undesirable questions. As soon as the battle started however, they would realize who he was. That though, outside of his murdered dignity, would be irrelevant.

"The badge. Focus on the badge." He whispered to himself.

He kept his head down, focusing his attention on the league official who was stating the rules of the match.

"... three versus three, or until the declaration of a forfeit. The host is limited to grass-class species, the challenger is only limited to nonfire-class species. Pokèmon deemed unfit to continue fighting by myself must yield. No returns..." and so it continued.

"Do you accept?" Ash nodded slightly, squeaking out a high-pitched 'yes'.

"Take your places!"

Ash looked up, staring from underneath the blond curls of his wig across the battle ground, watching as Erika prepared herself. This was, Misty often joked, the only time he ever truly understood _people_ – the moment they were about to start a pokèmon match. And perhaps it was true, he did get a lot out of a battle before the first ball was thrown.

She was different now, neither warm and inviting as she'd been when they first met, or as outwardly angry as she'd been after he'd insulted her merchandise. She seemed single-mindedly focused, a gleam in her eye that bespoke of confidence without coming over as haughty. He had noticed obviously that she was beautiful – that was afterall part of the problem when he'd stuck his foot in his mouth – but the softness that surrounded her had faded away.

Misty – his near entire interaction with girls his own age, and subsequent base for all reference – very much wore her heart on her sleeve, and the change between how they usually got along and the competitive nature when they battled didn't really exist. He liked that about her, her purity of self – though he'd never hear the end of it if he admitted as much. And likewise he knew his own zealous competitiveness annoyed her, even if it was also a source of amusement – not that she'd ever admit that either.

Practically, it meant she was a known quantity to him – as much as a girl can be to a teenage boy. This girl, wasn't..

"Focus," he muttered aloud, though too softly for anyone but himself to hear it. Erika had stepped into the trainer's box, and seemed to be debating between two pokèballs, shuffling them in her left hand, a look of hard concentration on her face.

Best he could tell, she was Misty's opposite. Much more outwardly feminine than Misty – yet harder, predatory... not that Misty would tolerate being called 'soft'. Uneasily, he realized she reminded him of a younger Jessie more than anyone else he knew. It wasn't a pleasant thought. Jessie was a hopeless trainer primarily because what she had in killer instinct she was severely lacking in patience and control on her temper – two problems he himself knew something about. It wasn't wise to make assumptions, but it was unlikely that a gym leader would survive in that capacity while having those faults.

'It's going to be like the Lieutenant all over again,' he thought grimly. 'Only without the chance of a rematch if things go wrong.'

He shook his head, clearing it of such pessimist thoughts. A self-depreciating smile wisped across his face – Misty always claimed thinking wasn't his strong suit anyway. She (most of the time) meant it as jest, but it carried a grain of truth. He went with his heart and blood and guts over his brains: he simply _did. _ And what he may have lacked in general knowledge or fancy strategic know-how – and Misty once more was never shy of telling him just what he lacked – he knew the strengths and weaknesses of his own pokèmon intimately. That more than anything was his greatest strength.

"Begin."

For a moment, Erika stared back at him, and his stomach plummeted, fearing he would be discovered at the last minute. Then her focus shifted, one tiny pokèball expanding in her hand as she raised it with a flourish. With an elegant snap of her wrist, the pokèball soared upwards, spinning towards the center of the ring. It bounced once before opening, a harsh light erupting from within, slowly sharpening into a spherical shape before fading into color, forming a lush-looking Tangela.

Ash frowned, racking his memory for any relevant information. Without Charmander, he only had five eligible fighters; Bulbasaur and Pidgeotto clearly being the two best candidates.

He reached for the magnetic holster on his belt which kept his pokèballs snugly at arm's reach. Then, a flash of inspiration! _Vines. Look at it, it's nothing but vines. Attack from the distance. _

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" He bellowed his customary opening, enthusiasm bursting within him as the solution to this particular battle formed inside his head. An moment later, Bulbasaur appeared, pawing its front foot into the ground and letting out a raspy growl.

Ash realized his mistake.

"_You!" _The accusation flew from across the field. Gasps to the side made it even more painfully obvious that he'd been discovered. A moment later, Pikachu's ball exploded. The yellow pokèmon gave Ash a shrug, before waving towards Misty and Brock. Ash flushed once more.

"Enough." Erika's voice carried across the field, bringing the rumblings from the audience to a complete halt. She glared at Ash for a moment, before turning to the league official, standing awkwardly on the sideline. "Sir, please commence the battle"

He stared for a moment, then schooled his face into some semblance of neutrality, raising his green flag.

"Begin."

Both pokèmon reacted before either trainer issued a single command. Tangela, clearly used to scores of similar battles took the initiative, two ropey vines hurled themselves towards Bulbasaur, intent on catching it between them. Bulbasaur for its part reacted admirably, dodging the first completely and moving fast enough that the second landed only a glancing blow to the base of the bulb.

"Don't let it get too close, attack from a distance." Ash shouted into the fray. Then he added, "Focus on the body!"

Bulbasaur nodded its head a fraction of an inch, pressing into the ground before releasing a barrage of the razor sharp 'leaves' from its bulb. Tangela staggered slightly as the leaves connected with its central mass, but otherwise seemed unfazed, another group of vines speeding towards the now stationary Bulbasaur.

Bulbasaur attempted to jump aside, but its luck had run out – it simply wasn't that agile. Thick vines wrapped around both its front legs, lashing them together.

"Bring it in." Erika called out, though Tangela was already taking the initiative. Ash thought frantically, trying to come up with a counterattack before Bulbasaur was irrevocably ensnared. Bulbasaur for its part was fighting frantically, biting at the vines and scrambling on its hind legs to anchor itself into the ground, but it could only slow down the inevitable, and the vines seemed unaffected by its bite.

"Grab the tree – the big one, far left!" Ash blurted, desperate to buy time. Bulbasaur stopped twisting for a moment, looking towards where Ash was pointing. With a defiant growl, it threw out its own vine, wrapping tightly around an enormous oak in the center of the copse. It was a small victory that Erika seemed slightly thrown by this maneuver.

The two pokèmon seemed caught in a stalemate, Bulbasaur no longer being dragged forward yet unable to attack; fully concerned with holding its position.

Slowly, agonizingly so, Bulbasaur began to move backwards, kicking as well it could with its hind legs and maintaining the torque in its vines. Tangela pulled back, and as both trainers watched, the only sound was the strain in the tension of two sets of vines pulling against one another.

Ash's mind was racing. In the long run, it was Bulbasaur who was being pulled in two, not Tangela – the advantage lay with Erika. And those vines were so very, very tight...

"Razor Leaf! Cut the vines!" He shouted, a sense of triumph rising within him. Loose around its body, Bulbasaur's leaves had dented the vines but done little else. Now though, the vines were exposed and taut. The look of horror that registered on Erika's face as he issued the command confirmed as much.

"Close the distance – let it go!" It was too late – a half dozen leaves shot out, criss-crossing with the precision of long hours of practice into Tangela's vines, just six feet from where the tips held Bulbasaur immobilized. Tangela let out a high-pitched squeal as it registered the loss of the dextrous and sensitive tips of both its vines, rapidly curling the ragged remains around its body protectively.

Bulbasaur, now free of one restraint, went flying backwards, slamming into the tree that had previously been its second anchor. It stood up shakily, clearly dazed by the impact, before falling down once more, utterly exhausted.

"Both pokèmon are unfit to continue," the voice of the forgotten referee cut through, causing Ash to jolt his head away from Bulbasaur. He looked towards Erika, then shrugged, pulling out Bulbasaur's pokèball. A tie wasn't ideal – he'd hoped for Bulbasaur to at least survive into the second match, if not win it – but he was still very much within the battle.

"You did great," he called out consolingly as the beam of light erupted from the ball, engulfing the fallen pokèmon. "That was a really good opponent –"

An explosion.

A dull roar, and then a much louder _boom_ filled the gym, the shock of the explosion knocking Ash face first into the grass.

He didn't move, his head ringing and the taste of dirt and blood mingling in his mouth. Drunkenly, he lurched his head upward, flinching slightly at his own sudden movement. His eyes swam but eventually he began to make out a fuzzy picture. The other half of the gym – where the scent shop had stood - had collapsed into rubble and had taken a segment of the roof with it, leaving a ragged hole that was quickly filling with a grey cloud of debris. Erika was on her hands and knees, trying and failing to stand up.

He attempted it himself, swaying drunkenly though managing to stay upright on the second try. His legs shook, but he managed a few steps before the nausea overtook him, a bitter taste in his mouth as he spat out bile.

It felt like a long time before he heard noise again. Panicked screams and confused moans distinguished themselves from a low roar as his hearing returned – he suddenly remembered that there were other people here as well.

"Ash, over here!" He recognized Brock's voice and turned in the general direction – it helped that even had everyone been standing, Brock would have been the tallest person in the gym. He shuffled forward, absurdly proud that Brock had had the wherewithal to release Onix, the large stone snake acting as a pillar of support for those nearby. Idly, his own hand reached for his belt, subconsciously checking the count. He froze, panicked. There was a ball missing.

"I dropped Bulbasaur's ball," he shouted to Brock, now focused on the ground, trying to find the tiny red and white ball amongst the fallen foliage. He shook his head – he really was addled. "Pikachu, are you alright?" He called out, feeling a new-found dread that in the midst of a massive disaster, he was already short two pokèmon.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu half-tumbled, half-rolled towards Ash, before jumping and throwing himself at Ash's stomach. Ash caught it, falling back a step as he did so. "Good, you're alright," Ash replied, relief clear in his voice.

Pikachu however didn't pause, wriggling in Ash's hands and pointing frantically – towards, Ash realized with horror, the tree that Bulbasaur had been thrown into earlier. Sure enough, there at the bottom was the little blue pokèmon, though it was making no move to stand up.

Ash ran forward, falling next to his pokèmon. The sight was horrific: it was clearly still alive, and for the most part seemed fine if not bruised, its back, however...

The bulb was crushed, caught between the force of the explosion and the tree once more. Sap oozed from a ragged hole at the top, and it seemed that parts of the bulb had been reduces to a mushy pulp, covering the surface and leaving harsh gouges within. Bulbasaur looked up, its eyes glassy and making no noise save a pained, repetitive growl.

Tenderly, Ash touched its head, not trusting himself anywhere near the tattered remnants of its bulb.

"We'll get you taken care of right away," Ash promised, doing his best to sound calm and reassuring. He pulled Pikachu's pokèball out – the league had a fine for using a pokèball not registered to a specific pokèmon, but it was hardly a concern at the moment, and there wasn't time to search for the correct one, wherever it was.

Relief washed over him as Bulbasaur disappeared inside, properly this time. While not perfect, the pokèball would act as a sort of stasis until he could get to a hospital.

Now though, he needed to help rescue the others. The small crowd of Erika's employees-cum-spectators were now all on their feet, with a single girl slumped against Onix. Ash hurried forward, now much more (if not entirely) steady on his feet.

"Is she alright?" Ash asked immediately as he reached Brock and Misty, feeling a tinge of guilt that he hadn't until now given a thought to the other peoples' conditions. Misty looked uncertain, her eyes going back to the girl, but Brock nodded.

"She'll be fine once we get out of here," he replied. "We think it's just a broken leg, and that's the worst injury of the lot. We were really lucky."

"Real lucky to be caught in an explosion," Misty interrupted, her voice more hysterical than having any real malice. "We've got to get out of here, we need to find out what's going on."

Ash nodded, inclined to agree with her this once. Before they could argue over a course of action however, one of the girls shouted, "Fire!"

Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing. Sure enough, the grey haze had turned much darker, and the skylight was now almost full of a thick black smoke and the acrid tang of it began to concentrate around them.

"It must have been the Vermillion Pipeline," a small, mousy-haired girl with a round, heart-shaped face exclaimed. "That must have been that first explosion, right before the gym blew up."

Ash's memory was hazy, but he didn't disagree. "We need to get out of here then," he said to Brock, then turned to Misty. "We can use Squirtle and Starmie – we need to help put out the fire."

"Are you crazy," Misty hissed. "A _gas _fire! And the Vermillion Pipeline is huge – we need to get out, not get closer."

"We can't just not do anything, we can't just let people die." Ash declared, furious. He hated this, this sense of impotence. Lashing out at Misty was his natural reaction, as was hers for lashing out at him. At the look of hurt that flashed across her face, he realized a moment later that he'd gone too far. "I didn't mean... I'm sorry," he said, turning away.

"Save it," Brock snapped, his normally calm and amicable demeanor absent. "Ash, Misty's right. We need to get out, get everyone safe, and let the emergency crews take care of it. They'll have teams in place in case something happened to the pipeline. Our job is to look after the people here, understood?"

Ash nodded, abashed. Misty nodded as well, though didn't look at him, and even he realized how absurd it was that they'd be fighting at a time like this.

Erika was leading her own group of people outside, and called out for the three to follow. Carefully, they picked their way across the wrecked interior of the gym, still quietly discussing who would do what once they got out.

Getting out of the gym, they realized all arguments were moot.

The streets were rapidly filling with people, most more in a state of shock than actually injured or otherwise hurt. Houses and shops were slightly worse for the wear – most of those nearby now lacking some if not all of their windows – but most had come through relatively unscathed.

"This isn't right," Erika said softly that Ash only just heard it.

"It's terrible," Brock replied in agreement.

"No," Misty interrupted. "This isn't right. You said there were two explosions, right?" She asked the girl Ash had noticed before, and she nodded slightly, clearly confused. "But look around, there's nobody's really hurt. Unless you were actually in the gym at the time, you could easily attribute all of this damage to the first explosion."

"And one explosion could be considered an accident, but two clearly isn't," Erika finished grimly.

"How far away is the pipeline?" Brock asked after a moment. "Surely it's not actually _in _town?"

Erika shook her head. "No, the refinery is well out beyond the outskirts – it's housed in the old fort that sits at the top of The Downs – just off of Route 16."

Misty gasped. "That must have been _enormous..." _she trailed off, looking ill. She grabbed Ash's arm, squeezing it painfully. He let her.

"If we can't help there, then I need to get to the center now," Ash interrupted, reacting to his greater helplessness with at least being able to help Bulbasaur. "And you need to get her to the hospital too," he amended, jerking his head towards the girl riding Onix.

Nobody argued, and so they moved as quickly as they could through the increasingly clogged streets, Onix proving his worth once more by parting a path for them to follow.

They walked in near silence, each dealing with the shock alone in the confines of their mind. As they cut through the park, Ash realized just how close to the blast he would have been, had the blast occurred earlier when he was outside with Pikachu. 'If I hadn't snuck in, I'd have been right here. And Brock and Misty - there wouldn't have been a battle, and everyone would have been in the shop, not out watching our fight. It's a good thing Team Rocket..._'_

His eyes widened in surprise. _No_ – Team Rocket was _never _a good thing. Team Rocket had sent him into a building with the flimsy excuse of their own twisted sense of honor. He stopped, horrified. By going in himself, he'd guaranteed that the gym leader – the most renowned pokèmon handler in the entire city – was also present.

He swore. And he'd fallen for it! Baited by his need for a badge.

"Brock," he whispered as softly as he could to prevent Misty from overhearing his damning testimony. "Team Rocket did this. They... they're the ones who dressed me up like this." He realized just then that he was still dressed like a girl, though he'd lost the wig along the way. It didn't seem to matter now.

Brock stared at him, mouth open slightly. "Team Rocket helped you? Jessie and James?" He said at last, his voice also hushed. Ash nodded, though didn't – couldn't - look the older boy in the eye.

Brock nodded slightly, clapping an arm on Ash's free shoulder. "Thanks for telling me. Don't worry - I'll take care of it," he said, then moved away, calling out for Erika.

However Brock hoped to explain the situation without condemning Ash, he never found out. For the third time in the hour, an explosion rocked Celadon City. Silence reigned for a moment, then as one the denizens look skyward, easily finding the great plumes pouring out of the Celadon Tower, the second-largest skyscraper in all of Kanto and far and away the largest in the city. A loud rumbling roar filled the air, like the sound of an avalanche, as the building – slowly at first, the quickly picking up speed – crumbled to the ground.

Nervous curiosity turned to full blown panic, and the mob ran.


	3. Chapter 2

_As the Confederation of Free Cities consolidated their rule and evolved into the Indigo League, they faced an immediate threat to their control from the more powerful pokèmon masters in the previously semi-autonomous city-states. First and foremost, the Indigo League partitioned itself in two, the council ruling concurrently from Celadon and Saffron, far and away the largest cities in Kanto. Having ensured the cooperation (however sullenly) of the economic hub of the region, the League made its move to guarantee hegemony over the rest of the subcontinent._

_It is important to note that there never was a unified movement to evict the League, or even to seriously protest its increasingly heavy-handed dominance over the everyday running of business and politics. For the most part, the massive growth in prosperity and the very real advancements in collective security meant that many if not most were active supporters of the league. While diehards and revolutionaries undoubtedly existed, they remained underground and for the most part passive, biding their time for the opportune moment to strike._

_Due to the League's fast actions, the time would be a long while coming._

_As the pokèball began to be readily accessible to even the most remote outposts of Kanto, the League realized that they had in effect given each municipality the ability to cheaply raise its own private army – at the very time it was attempting to bring these very townships under centralized control. The solution was The Pokèmon Transport Network. _

_Newly produced pokèballs were henceforth designed to tag each pokèmon with a specific marker, that would then be traced back to the master of the ball. Furthermore, all pokèballs were connected directly to a blandly named central bureau, Services for Accounting, Reclamation, and Intelligence, a classically meaningless and vague name that was quickly shortened to the much more pronounceable (if equally nonsensical) SAFARI. Any more than four pokèmon (later adjusted to six following the Seafoam Massacre), and the pokèball would transport the pokèmon inside to a large central containment facility – colloquially known as the SAFARI zone, where the now empty yet used pokèball could reacquire its pokèmon from the central authority – provided a sixth pokèmon were exchanged as well. _

_While the system did provide a relatively efficient way to study and house captured pokèmon in a safe and well-funded environment, there is no question that it was a large step towards limiting the amount of power any one pokèmon master could hope to obtain. It would be the first of many, culminating in the League's removal of executive power from the Confederation entirely, reestablishing itself in the isolated confines of the Indigo Chateau, a token figurehead ambassador residing in Celedon's Pokèmon Mansion purely as a political gesture of benevolent intentions. _

_~Untitled Papers, source unknown._

_

* * *

  
_

There was no time to stop and absorb what had just happened, no time for conscious thought. Ash simply lashed outwards, grabbed Misty's wrist and ran. The crowd swirled around them, waves of people churning this way and that, funneled between the urban sprawl. The only thing the crowd held in common was a desire to get away, far from the center of the city where the skyline was now irrevocably changed. There was very little smoke or noise coming from the downtown – the building had fallen with the speed and practice of a controlled demolition.

The problem being of course that nobody knew who had done the controlling.

And so he ran, dragging Misty just a half-step behind him, her nails biting into the flesh of his wrists.

"_Ash! Ash! I can't -"_ Eventually, he realized Misty was screaming, crying to get his attention. He turned back towards her, the stampede still raging all around them. She looked up at him, pleading.

"We need to get inside somewhere, this is crazy! We can't...I can't," She took a rushed breath, still running along side him. Then she looked at Ash, gestured over her shoulder and screamed, "Tauros!"

Ash's swore as she got out the last word. He jerked his head over his shoulder, flinching slightly as Pikachu dug deeper into his scalp as it fought to maintain its perch. Sure enough, three Tauros were now part of the stampede – clearly spooked by the people panicking around them. The crowds pitch rose as they scrambled away from this new threat, which only served to spur the Tauros on. Ash pulled his eyes away, now looking frantically for a safe place to get out of the Tauros' path. A piercing, anguished cry of a young girl made the point – it was more dangerous to stay in this crowd than to flee.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu shouted from above where it clung to Ash's head, raising one paw to point at a large granite fountain base in the middle of the upcoming round-about. It felt a lifetime ago, that his biggest anguish had been not getting a gym badge, as he'd vented his frustrations on a fountain just like this, only a small ways away.

"The fountain, straight ahead," Ash bellowed out, turning his head a fraction to address Misty. "We'll jump into it. Ready?"

"You're insane!" Misty shrieked, though she held Ash's hand tighter, sprinting slightly faster so they were now neck-and-neck. "Aaaaaah!!"

They screamed together, running full speed as the crowd began to part in two, heading in both directions up the roundabout. The Tauros grew frantic, suddenly flanked by the crowd and hemmed in by the abandoned vehicles that clustered the roadway. Two turned around, charging back up the street the way they had come, leading to renewed shouts of despair from those now facing the enraged pokèmon a second time. The third however let out a loud bellowing roar, its eyes glowing a luminescent white as it reared up, slamming both front hooves into the tarmac. Tremors rippled across the ground, and it continued to stomp, smashing into the ground.

"Earthquake!" Misty cried out to Ash, as the pair of them held on to one another for support. Ash looked around, mortified. Those unlucky enough to be caught flatfooted by the miniature quakes were now caught underneath an increasingly desperate mob. Beside him, he heard Misty choke back a sob, and Pikachu let out a high-pitched whine.

"Let's go!" Ash cried, yelling his lungs out as he held on to Misty. The pair of them screamed out their fear and jumped, scrambled, and finally fell into the shallow pool of water. One final round of earthquakes followed, the water in the fountain slopping around them, reaching the very top of the lip before slashing down again, giving them both a face full of chilly, dirty water.

Then, thankfully, the final Tauros bolted, following its brethren back down the now nearly deserted street, those who had been unable to escape clearly seeking solace in the abandoned shops and homes rather than attempting to brave the enraged pokèmon.

They remained in the fountain for a long time, hidden behind the marble base that rose above the now considerably lower waterline. Ash realized belatedly that Misty was shivering, and he put a soaked arm around her, pulling her closer. She didn't say anything, and the shivering didn't stop, but neither made a move to pull away – too much had happened for immature gripes or half-faked coyness.

"C-cold..." She said at last, wriggling at the increasing discomfort of their position in the dirty water. It was oddly quiet - there was noise now, but it was further away, a distant buzz – the Tauros had stampeded out of sight, and the crowd had either continued to run or else those left behind were remaining quiet in their hiding places.

Ash peeked over the lip, cautiously taking a look around. He quickly wished he hadn't.

The Tauros had been more panicked than enraged, and thankfully its earthquake-creating stomps had been more instinctive than anything else, making them much less powerful than they could have been. But that didn't help the rounded score of broken bodies that had fallen from them, unable to get up before the panicked mob had run them over time and time again, leaving battered and bleeding corpses littering the roundabout.

"Ash. What is it?" Misty asked, her voice hushed yet clearly terrified. Ash shook his head and turned away, managing at least that before he threw up, the sick floating serenely in the water.

"We have to get out of here," he wheezed out, still gagging slightly. "Don't look at anything, we just run, okay?"

"Don't look..." Misty trailed off, blanching. She nodded slightly, keeping her gaze fixed on Ash as she stood up, willing herself not to look around her. Shaking, Ash got up as well, and the two climbed over the fountain. Ash kept his eyes on her – until he realized that her clothes were very much soaked and skin-tight, and with a wave of disgust at the absolute inappropriateness of the timing of this revelation, focused his attention on the ground instead.

"Which way?" Misty asked, picking at the straps of her dungarees, anything to keep her focus away from the street.

"I dunno... I'm terrible at directions, remember," Ash joked feebly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Maybe we should go back the way we came," Misty said at last. "Let's go back to the gym – maybe the others are there. The Tauros should be long gone, and..."

"If they're not, we have our own pokèmon," Ash finished grimly

The walked cautiously, Pikachu keeping a lookout for any odd noises that the other two couldn't pick up. As an afterthought, Ash released Charmander as well, the three of them walking in a tight triangle, trying to remember the way they had come. Thankfully, the carnage was much lighter here – it was only in the confines of the roundabout and after the tremors that things had become deadly, for which both Ash and Misty were grateful.

"I'm sorry I can't help," Misty said for the third time in fifteen minutes. "It's times like these I really wish I didn't just specialize in water pokèmon..." She finished, her apology fading out.

Ash shrugged. "It's okay," he said at last. "And if we do get into a fight, Staryu and Starmie will be fresh for battle – that's what really counts."

Misty nodded, visibly brightening. "That's true – I'm just saving them for their moment. Everyone knows my Starmie can beat anything _you _have. It'll be up to Misty to save the day!"

"As if!" Ash sniped back. "I've beaten you every time we've battled. And that's even with Pikachu refusing to fight."

"It's not my fault Pikachu likes me more," she said with a mock pout. "And anyway," she glared. "The only time we fought officially, my sisters gave you the badge. It was a tie. On the road, I beat you _at least_ half the time – what do you say to that!"

Ash rolled his eyes. "A badge is a badge. And training battles don't count - I _let _you win every now and then – it's not worth dealing with your tantrums."

Pikachu and Charmander shared an exasperated look, and Pikachu allowed a loud crackle of electricity to sparkle through its cheeks, earning it a glare from both trainers before they returned to their argument.. Ash smiled a little, feeling a deep sense of relief. His heart wasn't in the argument at all and he suspected the same held for Misty. But these deserted streets and shops were so surreal, so out-and-out _creepy, _that he absolutely needed something to distract himself from going mad.

Even if that something was a skinny girl in a wet yellow shirt, rehashing the same timeless argument they'd had too many times now to count.

After an hour of crisscrossing down unfamiliar streets, they found themselves once more outside of the Celadon City Gym. Misty groaned, sitting down heavily on a wooden bench outside the entrance when it was clear the place was still deserted.

"I don't get it," Ash mumbled, eyes mesmerized by the smoke that wisped out behind the gym, indicating that the inside of the gym was still burning. "Where are the rescue teams, the firefighters... nobody's here. It's been what – two, three hours?"

"Of course not!" Misty screamed, more in frustration than anger. "The pipeline blew up _and _Celadon Tower -" she swallowed a sob. "People were_ dying _Ash – I know what happened, even if you tried to make sure I didn't see it," she gave him a warm, sad look. "Nobody's going to care about a burning building right now, even if it's a gym."

"That's not... I didn't mean it like that," Ash snapped back, defensive.

Misty sighed. "I know... What now?"

Ash shrugged, looking up helplessly at the burning building – the once clear and sparkling dome was now clouded by a sooty grey – he really hoped everyone got out, people and pokèmon alike...

Suppressing the thought, he turned back to Misty. "We need to find Brock. Onix wouldn't have let Brock get swept away, so no matter what else happened I think Brock is with that girl. You know him – he'd try and get her to the hospital before doing anything else –"

"-except maybe to the Justice of the Peace," Misty interrupted.

"Yeah – um, right," Ash replied, caught flat-footed. Misty smiled – the first genuine look of happiness he'd seen from her since this mess started.

"So I guess we go to the hospital," Ash said at last. "Any idea where it is?" He finished, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he remembered that it was always Brock who learned the location of all the boring, non-pokèmon related landmarks. That one of those should suddenly be relevant...

"No idea," Misty said, sounding downtrodden once more. "And there's probably more than one, in a city this size," she added. "There's a lot more people than pokèmon."

"Right," Ash replied glumly.

"Let's go to the center then," Misty announced after some time. "People will be gathering there, and they'll have computers, a telephone if it's still working. Maybe we can find them from there and if not, that's where Brock will probably look for us next.

Ash nodded, stretching his arms and rearranging his pack before Pikachu jumped onto its perch once more. "Right then, let's go."

The walked quickly, heading eastwards – deciding to make a wide ark around the blast in the center of town before heading north, where the pokèmon center sat on the remains of the old Saffron gateway, back when Celadon had been a walled-in town like any other in Kanto. Now it sprawled far past its old boundaries, but one landmark had given way to another.

Some time later they came to an intersection with a larger promenade - Porcel Lane, a bright green sign informed them as they turned to go up it.

"Weird name," Ash said, looking up at the sign.

"Do you listen to anything that's not to do about pokèmon?" Misty asked exasperatedly. "The whole town was originally founded on a quarry, and pottery's a big thing here. And perfumes..." She added, her voice soft and dreamy. "It's going to be a long time before this place is fixed up again, and it was soooo pretty," Misty sighed.

"Who are you?" a gravelly voice demanded from ahead, stopping the duo in their tracks. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder, and Charmander tensed up as well, bracing itself after seeing its trainer spin around, looking for the phantom voice.

"There!" Misty shouted, pointing to the threshold of one of the abandoned stores. Standing there was a skinny man with lanky black hair, his face tight and eyes menacing. He was carrying a large create in both hands, brightly stamped with a red and white sphere. Both Ash and Misty immediately recognized it for what it was – a full shipment of brand-new pokèballs, a fortune in its own right and unregistered to boot.

"Thief!" Ash blurted unnecessarily, hand flying to his belt, fingers clasping around Squirtle's pokèball. Misty froze for a moment staring between Ash and the stranger, before she too went for her belt.

"No," the man growled, dropping the box to the ground with a dull clang, whipping out three pokèballs faster than Ash imagined possible. They bounced once on the concrete, before opening up with the customary pop and flash as the seals were broken. A moment later, a Graveller, Beedrill and Raticate were staring down at the them.

"Knock 'em out," The man roared, his voice filled with anger.

"Charmander, Flamethrower! Slow them down." Ash cried out, panicking as the three pokèmon closed the gap, clearly intending not just to attack his pokèmon but he and Misty as well. Pikachu jumped forward, its body sizzling with energy as it unleashed a thunderbolt at the Beedrill. The giant bug seemed to freeze in midair, spasms rocking it and its delicate wings began to smoke. It collapsed to the ground just meters away from Ash, and he could smell the nauseating scent of roasting bugmeat.

Raticate however dodged Charmander's attack entirely, and Graveller simply ignored it, barreling through the fire and landing one of its stony fists into Charmander's chest, extinguishing the flow of fire instantly. Charmander flew backwards, skidding to a stop at the end of the street, trying feebly to stand up once more.

"Crush it!" The man screamed, eyes never leaving the fried corpse of his Beedrill. Graveller let out a grunt that was oddly similar to that of its trainer, and charged the clearly winded firelizard. Ash looked on, helpless to act.

Two torrents of water suddenly came from the side, catching Graveller's side simultaneously. The giant boulder-pokèmon gave a roar of equal parts frustration and pain as it stumbled then fell over, an enormous crash rattling the nearby buildings as it fell into the road. Charmander hugged its tail protectively, clawing backwards from the water, and Ash snapped out of his funk, cursing his lack of foresight at he grabbed Charmander's pokèball, his pokèmon clearly relieved as it was enveloped in the protective red beam before disappearing inside.

He turned towards Misty, who was coordinating the joint attacks of Squirtle and Starmie. Now grossly outnumbered, Raticate hesitated, eyes darting quickly between it's trainer and the fallen Graveller, whom Misty's Staryu was watching over, clearly ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Pikachu, Thunderwave," Ash called out, hoping to get out of this without frying another pokèmon entirely – he felt sick, looking at the still twitching Beedrill.

"I quit," the man said, coming out of the store entirely, both hands up. "I'm leavin' everything behind – won't bother you kids any. Just lemme go my way."

Ash glared, struck at the audacity of the would-be robber who moments ago had tried to kill Charmander. It struck a nerve, and he was tempted to deny the man's request.

"You're in a warzone kid," the man called out, now more confident. "You think I'm the only guy around here picking at the spoils? You run into somebody else, that Charmander of yours ain't gonna be worth anything in a fight. Let's cut our losses and get out of here – I ain't taking anything, so consider it a win."

Ash shook, furious. Still, he now had two seriously injured pokèmon, and until now, he hadn't given a thought to what might be lurking in the suddenly desolate regions of the city. If this happened again...

"Fine," Ash spat, after looking at Misty, her small nod of acquiescence giving him the right to negotiate. "You go your way and we'll go ours. And if I ever see you again-"

A bright flash of white light erupted from all three trainers, causing Ash to flinch at the unexpected brightness of multiple pokèball. Confused, he realized that every single pokèball on their persons had simultaneously opened – the abandoned crate making it's presence known as it exploded, the pent up pressure of two-hundred pokèball opening tearing through the thick plastic.

Ash felt sick – Bulbasaur and Charmander didn't move, both sprawled on the road, looking helplessly towards Ash. Pidgeotto let out a rumbling chirp, flew upwards for a moment and then started to circle slowly over Ash's head, not able to comprehend the situation. Ash tensed, remembering his final pokèmon. Primeape snorted, pawing the ground before crawling down an alley and jumping into a dumpster, looking for food. Ash let out a silent sigh of relief.

Misty, it seemed, was one step ahead of him. Though of course, she didn't have any potentially psychopathic pokèmon to keep an eye on...

"The pokèballs – they've stopped working," Misty exclaimed, breaking Ash out of his thoughts. She looked deep in thought, before she blanched, her expression horrified. "But Celadon Tower was only the backup, the main system is in Saffron. That means..."

"You figured it out, girlie," A woman's voice laughed coldly from above. "Alright boys, get 'em."

There was no time to think, no time to issue specific orders or think through a long term strategy, as was common during professional matches. _This _was something new, something dark and bloody. Even the petty thief – now fighting alongside them (survival made strange bedfellows) – had been more focused on getting away with his stolen goods than coming after them. These people though...

Ash grabbed an iron post tightly as the ground rumbled once more as a one-eyed Machoke pounded both fists into the ground, coming up with slabs of concrete as large as Ash's head and hurled them once more at the tiring Graveller, the two locked in a battle of brute force. Ash and Misty had fought a fighting retreat into what had once probably been a very nice bakery, Ash carefully carrying Charmander and Misty doing the same with Bulbasaur, the rest of their pokèmon forming a perimeter as they fell back. Further down the street the thief – unbeknownst to himself – had bought them time by lashing out immediately, focusing attention onto Raticate and Graveller.

Now, he stood outside, partially concealed by the cluttered mess of overturned tables and chairs that had lined the street outside the shop. Pikachu and Pidgeotto were working together, slowly pressing the advantage against a small flock of Zubat. Misty was once more coordinating the water pokèmon, her own two and Squirtle working together to keep the attackers away.

It dawned on Ash that he was no longer truly part of the battle. While he prided himself on leading their temporary withdrawal in good order – he'd have to tell Brock about that – he understood that he couldn't protect Bulbasaur and Charmander anymore than they could protect themselves, even in their current states, and Pikachu and Pidgeotto needed no additional help – he could take solace in how well he'd trained his pokèmon to _not _need his complete command. Determined to do something, he looked for a way to sneak across the street without being seen. The woman's voice had come from the second floor of one of the many shop-home style lofts that were ubiquitous around here. If he could find out who she was, maybe stop her himself...

Another shattering boom as Machoke and Graveller closed the distance and fell together to the ground, still grappling furiously. Ash ran, sprinting across the wide street and throwing himself into the nearest doorway, suddenly feeling incredibly vulnerable in the darkness without a single remaining pokèmon.

He stood, tensed, at the doorway, counting how many doors he needed to go into what he thought was the right place.

A brilliant arc of electricity caught his vision and he smiled; Pikachu was still in the fight, it seemed.

He ran once more, counting the the doors until he reached the seventh one, guessing this was as good as any as to where the voice had come from. He pushed the unlocked door open, grateful that in the midst of a panicked exodus, people didn't seem to bother with petty things like security. He moved as quickly and quietly as he could, making his way towards the back of the toy store and up to the stairwell that led to the loft above. His heart thumped – there was light at the top of the landing. He snuck up the stairs, holding his breath.

"I know the orders, and this isn't what we were supposed to do," a man barked, his voice carrying easily down the stairs.

"This is exactly what we were supposed to do. Confusion and Destruction. Neutralize any hostile pokèmon." It was the same women from before, voice tinkling and cold.

"_You _made them hostile, you crazy bitch," the original voice snapped back. "These aren't wet-behind-the-ears civvies we're dealing with, these are proper trainers. The girl's got three working together, and we can't land a hit on her. We had everything going our way when the balls quit working, and yet she's fighting, the guy they were fighting is fighting, and somehow we lost the kid."

Ash rankled at being called 'kid', but restrained himself from doing anything stupid.

"The boss wants -"

"If the boss wants something, he should give us the tools for the job, not a bunch of second-rate Zubats. C'mon, Cass, you heard the radio – the skirts in blue are getting their shit together now, if we heat things up here too much, they'll catch sight of us, and we can't have that. Let's _go!"_

"Fine," she bit back. "But you get to report in why we didn't meet our objectives."

Ash fled as the sound of footsteps picked up around the room, bolting down the stairs and heading out the door.

"Someone's there!" The male voice called out, too late. Yet as he flew out the foyer and onto the road, a pokèball clattered at his feet. Curiously, he realized that it was solid black, not like any pokèball he'd ever seen before.

The result however was the same, and he couldn't help but turn to look behind him, his heart flip-flopping in his chest when he made out the unmistakable shape of a Rhyhorn, quickly sharpening into form.

"Takedown!"

Ash ran, certain in the knowledge that he couldn't hope to outrun the pokèmon, and he couldn't hope to survive the impact.

A piercing pain squeezed into his back and upper arms, like a fistful of knives sinking through his skin, poking and tearing into his flesh. It wasn't, he thought dazedly, how he expected a charging Rhyhorn to feel like. Not that it mattered...

And then his feet were dangling in midair, and Ash snapped back, looking dazedly upwards. He was being carried by Pidgeotto, clutched in its talons and hanging as if by tenterhooks. It was excruciatingly painful, but at the moment the pain was overshadowed by a mix of relief and bowel-shaking terror as he realized just how close the Rhyhorn had been, as it tried to jump up and slash him with his horn, the point of it slicing the air just below his feet.

"There," Ash pointed to the balcony of a loft nearby. Pidgeotto gave a low coo of confirmation, its energy clearly exhausting after the fight and impromptu rescue. It dropped Ash, leaving a new set of marks down his back and Ash collapsed onto the ground, savoring for a second the cool feel of the stone against his cheek as his back burned in agony.

Too quickly though, he moved away, cursing as he found the door to the inside locked. Lacking any way of opening it, he screamed again in frustration, looking around for some sort of weapon. They knew where he was, it would only take one good shot...

And then he heard a roar that he would recognize from anywhere – Brock's Onix! A moment later, the great rocksnake came around from the main road, tearing a hole in the nearest building as it turned into the promenade. In the distance, he could now hear sirens – the 'skirts in blue', he realized, parsing the phrase he'd heard earlier.

Brock's arrival ended the street battle. The Zubats still capable of flying turned around, forming a tight V-formation as they disengaged.. Then as one they turned around, letting out a piercing-squeak that felt like it pierced every blood vessel in his brain. Ash held his head, groaning in pain caused by the infamous 'supersonic' ability of the bat pokèmon. When he had recovered enough to look around, their assailants had disappeared, even the battered Machoke managing to disappear in the confusion. Though perhaps it had been a mutual withdrawal, he thought, as the thief and his pokèmon were suddenly invisible as well, save the sad stomped remains of the Beedrill.

"Brock, over here!" Ash yelled, coughing once and waving his arms feebly. Brock's head jolted upwards, relaxing slightly when he saw who he was. Nodding, he turned to Onix and pointed at Ash, the giant pokèmon blinking slowly once before slithering forward, its head coming to rest at the bast of the balcony. Gingerly, Ash stepped over the top, making sure both feet were solidly on Onix's head before he let go, gripping tightly onto Onix's horn.

"Ash, you're alright!" Misty cried as he reached the ground, enveloping him into a tight hug that made him flinch. "Oh, sorry," she whispered apologetically as Ash gave her a tight almost-reassuring smile in return.

"Stay here," Brock said, looking over the younger boy critically. "We'll need to talk to the police, and then we'll go straight to the center – they're converting that for non-critical injuries – the pipeline... it's bad," Brock finished with a grimace.

"Bulbasaur and Charmander are a few places down – the bakery, there." Ash answered in an about-face of the topic, not wanting to deal with any more bad news right now. He pointing out the ruined doorway. "And the people who did this were in the toyshop," he pointed once more. "All the pokèballs stopped working and then they attacked, like they were waiting for that. Plus, they had their own type of pokèball – something I've never seen before. _It _worked," he finished bitterly.

Brock nodded, he clearly had more questions but he said nothing more, turning towards the first police officer to arrive, a blue-haired woman who couldn't have been older than twenty-five.

"Mr. Takeshi, sir, I take it you know these people," she asked, looking critically at Ash and Misty.

Brock nodded. "Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower. We got separated during the panic and it seems they ran into some fairly serious trouble." The police officer however was no longer paying attention, staring instead at the two trainers sitting raggedly on Onix.

"_Misty Waterflower_, from Cerulean Gym?" She asked, shocked. "_Mew, _as if we didn't have enough on our hands already. Fantastic."

Misty looked down, embarrassed and angry. The policewoman seemed to notice. "Sorry ma'am... not your fault – it's been a long day. Officer Jenny, at your service... I saw your sisters' spring performance a few months back – great stuff," she finished awkwardly. Misty didn't respond, and Ash snickered, earning him a glare from the girl – he knew what she thought of her sisters' performances was illegal, immoral, and hot enough to vaporize the pool they performed in.

"Anyway," Brock broke the increasingly awkward silence. "Ash says the ringleaders of this were holed up in... 'The Rocking Rapidash' " he read the now swinging sign. "I'm they've gotten out by now, but maybe they left something behind."

Brock's Geodude bounced forward, leading the way into the building. Brock, always the stoic in the aftermath of a crisis, took control, heading into the building and bringing Jenny with him. Just before he went inside, his arm wrapped protectively around her waist... a move she did nothing to alter.

Ash shared a look with Misty, then looked around them at the wreckage that had once been one of the most talked-about tourist sights in Celadon. He shrugged, stranger things had happened today.

"I never took Brock to be one of the 'yes, sir; no, sir' types," Ash joked as more than a half-hour passed with no sign of Brock or Officer Jenny. A few other police-officers had arrived, asking Ash and Misty a few questions before Jenny had come back out, explaining the situation. With other hotspots flaring all over a city already short on manpower, the others left, leaving Ash and Misty on their own.

Misty sighed. "Technically, a gym leader is on par with the League Governor in terms of official clout. It's not something that really comes up most of the time, but given the situation, Brock's suddenly someone to go to, even if this isn't his town."

Ash thought about that for a minute, slightly surprised to discover that Brock was more than just his good friend, and aspiring breeder – even if technically he was a gym leader. It was odd to think about, and even odder...

"What about _you?_"He yelped, awestruck. "You're a gym leader, do I have to start calling you ma'am?" He spoke with jest but Misty smirked, catching the undertone of seriousness in his tone.

She snorted. "Yeah, right. Just because I did all the actual fighting, doesn't mean I ever got any of the fun stuff. Violet is officially the gym leader, but the rules allow family representation so she just bullied the rest of us and I was the best. Brock got the power handed down legally when his dad disappeared – I guess he's still angry at him if he didn't officially give it back."

"You could have told me about this earlier, you know," Ash mumbled, suddenly feeling a sense of dejection of unexpectedly being the man-out.

"Oh please," Misty retorted, punching him a little-too-enthusiastically given his current injuries. "Like I was going to brag about my charming sister being able to tell me what to do, or Brock was going to abuse his power. Like I said, it usually doesn't matter, so stop moping."

Ash shrugged, turning towards Pikachu. "You wouldn't keep secrets from me, would you?" He asked, rubbing the pokemon's head and scratching behind its ears, earning him a pleased 'Chaa!'

"_Hmmph,_" Misty pouted, and Ash smiled – things were returning to normal.

"Nothing," Brock replied miserably when he came out, walking over to them. "Best we can guess they never set up shop here, just picked it at random – it's got a good view down the full street, I suppose."

Ash nodded. "That's what it sounded like – they were just supposed to be creating general panic, keeping everyone busy... what!?" Ash demanded as three people were now staring at him in shock.

"You _heard_ them," Jenny and Misty snapped at the same time.

"Err... yeah, sorry," Ash mumbled. "Um... during the fight, I snuck in – that's how I knew where they'd been. I couldn't help with the fight at that point, so I tried to find out what was going on. It was a man and a woman, talking about how they weren't supposed to get in a big fight and were taking too long."

"And you're telling us this _now!"_ Misty shrieked, flabbergasted. "You idiot, you utterly stupid -"

"Hey, I was injured, remember!" Ash restored defensively. "You try having a Pidgeotto grab you like a worm to save you from a charging Rhyhorn and see what you remember."

"Enough," Jenny demanded, the argument suddenly over. "There's not enough room for you in the cab, not with the pokèballs not working. You need to all get to the center and stay there – it's not safe to be out and we need to be able to consolidate the force, not spread ourselves out over street battles – we just don't have the power. She turned and... Ash blinked – _saluted _Brock. "I trust you can handle it, sir?"

Brock nodded. "There's more than enough room on Onix. Thank you for your help," Brock said, his attempted look of professionalism poorly masking a very silly grin. Not that Jenny was any better, if the sudden flush in her cheeks were anything to go by. Misty rolled her eyes, utterly disgusted. "Thank you, sir. Someone will be by to talk to you all shortly."

Jenny went back to her vehicle and set off back towards downtown and Misty went to round up the remaining pokèmon. Just as Ash and Brock were about to join her, a loud unmistakable shriek came from one of the alleyways, followed by the sound of metal being pounded.

Ash grabbed his pokèball, staring at it for a moment before realization sank in. A furious, potentially blood-thirsty Primeape was thrashing around in a narrow alley, and he had no way to retrieve it.

Pikachu and Geodude stepped forward, standing between their trainers and the soon-to-emerge Primeape. Sure enough, Primeape came bounding out the alley, its face twitching in perpetually barely-contained insanity. Ash felt incredibly vulnerable, with no way of recalling the enraged beast. Even when he won this fight, he'd have no way to control Primeape – this was going to be fight-and-flight, and the long term ramifications of the attacks today began to make themselves known.

As if that wasn't enough shock, Ash noticed the massive pile of pulpy flesh that Primeape was holding, stringy meat hanging from his teeth. The meat had taken a huge beating by Primeape that was clear. Then Ash noticed the horn, and his stomach dropped.

Primeape wasn't the only pokèmon that had been forgotten about in the heat of battle. So to, had Misty's Goldeen.

'_Found it._'


	4. Chapter 3

_The Pokèmon Guild (the predecessor to the Pokèmon League) was originally created as an offshoot of the growing Indigo League and the ever increasing sprawl of the PTN. Its purpose was to monitor the growing number of pokèmon under human control, as well as to form a central agency to unify and command these new forces. It was for the most part a dismal failure. It was too centralized, to close to the center of power to be of any use in the areas it was most needed – the northern frontier, the Viridian wilds, and the archipelagos south of Vermillion Bay. Furthermore, there was no incentive for the new social class of pokèmon masters – trainers, as they were referred to by the masters of old – to join the association, not did the guild yet have the power or numbers to force the issue._

_[Damaged, Illegible]_

_...And so it was disbanded, only to be reborn under a new name, The Pokèmon League._

_Unlike its predecessor, the League did not concern itself with maintaining an inventory of all pokèmon capable of service to nation defense nor with monitoring the trainer class. Those tasks not already being done to some capacity by the PTN were simply further absorbed into it, while the new technology of SAFARI served as a much more accurate and less invasive method of maintaining a pokèmon and trainer census. The League instead focused on winning over the loyalty of the very best trainers, hoping to create an exclusive club that would look favorably upon the state, in return for a permanent mark of status and to a lesser degree (though not inconsiderable) wealth._

_In contrast to the Guild, the League proved to be an enormous political success as well as highly profitable._

_[Damaged, Illegible]_

_Nine 'gyms' were established throughout Kanto, each specializing for the most part in one or two types of pokèmon, each under the direction of a Gym Master. In addition to taking on apprentices that passed the highly competitive examinations, the gyms would also allow licensed trainers to challenge the Master to a pokèmon duel for the gym's support to join the League. Having gained the support of all nine masters, a trainer would be admitted into the League, which over time brought with it significant prestige and privilege, as well as the rights to participate in the Great Games, an enormous tournament featuring only the strongest trainers and pokèmon. The winners of the bi-annual games quickly became national heroes, symbolizing man's complete triumph over their one-time greatest enemy. The rights to compete and the chance to win became the greatest symbol of glory amongst the citizenry of Kanto, and it wasn't long before every child dreamed of earning their license and beginning the journey to become the Pokèmon Master ._

_~ Untitled Papers, source unknown_

_

* * *

  
_

Primeape took another deep bite out of Goldeen before it stopped thrashing about. Noticing Ash and Brock, it paused, eyes darting between Ash and the pokèball in his hand as it continued to chew, bits of meat and spittle spraying from its mouth. For a moment, Ash dared hope for the least unpleasant outcome – that Primeape would see the pokèball and run, saving him from having to decide what to do with Primeape: He couldn't get over the shock of seeing Misty's first pokèmon reduced to pokèchow.

"Aaayyeep! Aaayyeep!" Primeape shrieked, stamping the ground now as it threw the husk of the Goldeen to the side, eyes locked on the pokèball, Ash himself forgotten. "Aaayyeep!"

Geodude lurched forward but Primeape ran past it, its chittering war cry raised to a fever pitch as it jumped, sharp teeth gnashing together fiercely. Pikachu leaped, clamping onto the thick tufts of hair that covered Primeape's body, and unleashed as powerful a Thundershock as it could muster at such a moments notice, and still exhausted from continuous out-pour of energy in the past hour.

Primeape knocked Ash off his feet, the two pokèmon and Ash falling in a bundle to the ground. Pikachu's attack had stunned the rabid pokèmon, but Pikachu was too tired and the attack had been too rushed – Primeape was still fighting and if not more furious, then more focused. The tiny claws of its feet slashed wildly, and Ash scrambled out of the way, quick to get away from the grapple. Primeape didn't notice – its attention had clearly turned to the yellow rodent on its back, as it clawed at Pikachu. It let out another angry howl, though one of frustration, not outright pain.

"Thunderwave!" Ash yelled, trying to be heard over the grunts and shrieks. "You need to conserve your energy."

Primeape fell over, stunned. For a moment, Ash was too – gobsmacked at how fast and how complete Pikachu's Thunderwave had been, and without any signs of sparking to boot.

Then he registered Geodude. Primeape's attention focused elsewhere, the boulder pokèmon had returned to the fight, a solid clock to the skull had simply knocked Primeape down, the weakened pokèmon unable to stand up as Geodude continued to pin it down. Then Pikachu did unleash his attack, and Primeape did not attempt to get up when Geodude cautiously moved backwards.

"What now?" Ash asked warily, still unnerved at the look of hatred that the now-paralyzed Primeape seemed to reserve for him alone. Ash refused to look at it directly in the eyes, not completely at ease that Primeape wouldn't find the strength to get back up if he confronted it so directly.

"We can't leave it here," Brock replied, not looking at the younger trainer. "It's too dangerous, and it's going to recover enough to move again eventually. It's a danger to itself and to innocent people."

"What are you saying?" Ash demanded, frustrated. "I _know _that. But I also know I can't take it with me, and locking it up somewhere isn't going to help anyone either – not that it's even an option," he finished , glaring at both Primeape and then as an afterthought, at Brock.

Brock frowned inwardly. "I'm sorry, Ash."

"For what?"

Brock didn't respond, instead looking upward, causing Ash to follow his gaze.

_Crap._

"Zubat, Leech Life. Make it quick."

Brock's Zubat landed behind Primeape, shuffling awkwardly for a moment before its two large fangs sank into the muscular flesh of Primeape's tiny neck.

Primeape didn't feel a thing, the neurotoxins in Zubat's venom paralyzing Primeape's senses even more thoroughly than Pikachu's Thunderwave. Logically, Ash knew this – Brock had been coaching him on the finer aspects of pokèmon zoology ever since they'd left Pewter City, and Zubat had been one of his favorite topics of interest. He knew this, knew that this was the same venom in fact the centers used to put down Charmanders whose tails wouldn't rekindle, or a feeble Growlithe.

Even so, he couldn't help but feel that Primeape knew exactly what was going on.

"We don't have to watch this," Brock said gently, turning to Ash.

Ash swallowed, eyes locked on Zubat.

"Yes, I do," he choked out at last. His fist clenched. "If we have to do this, then we have to watch what we're doing."

Zubat flew back to Brock at last, and Ash found himself for the first time looking at Primeape's eyes – and immediately regretting it – the anger and fire already fading away into a glassy, unfocused stare into the middle-space. In the end he too turned away, having no place to bury Primeape and refusing to throw him in the dumpster like it were garbage. In a way it was fitting – let the warrior rest where he fell, and in another way it left him ashamed, doing the one thing he'd promised himself back when Pikachu had saved him from the flock of Spearow.

He would never walk away from one of his pokèmon.

He didn't say a word as they arrived back at the rendezvous, falling gracelessly against Onix as Bulbasaur shuffled next to him and Charmander squatted on his opposite side. Squirtle sat next to his oldest friend, shooting a constant mist over the mangled bulb, to Bulbasaur's clear relief.

By the way Misty said nothing and the shine on her cheeks when she finally arrived, Ash supposed Brock had told her what had happened. She didn't look at him – a small relief – instead held Pikachu tightly to her chest, the little pokèmon looking uncomfortable but doing nothing to get free.

Brock didn't waste anytime, for which Ash was grateful. After a quick headcount, he grabbed onto Onix's neck, ordering the giant snake back towards the center. It was an awkward trip.

Arriving at the center, Brock proved once more why he was very much the parent of their little trio. Ash watched, still dazed at what had occurred and stunned by the crowd of refugees that swarmed the center. Brock took Bulbasaur and Charmander to the nurse's station, from what Ash caught of the situation explaining patiently that they had been injured while fighting off an attack on the city. The woman at the desk refused to budge, declaring that most of the staff was occupied dealing with the overflow from the hospitals and there was a long waiting list for what could be spared for pokèmon, even those badly if not life-threateningly injured. Ash had been about to go up and protest himself, when Brock pulled out a note from the inside of his jacket, handing it to the pink-haired nurse. She had read whatever it was over once, her face hardening as she did so, but she nodded at Brock, and took the two pokèmon with her. One of the girls Ash remembered vaguely came by and whisked Misty away – even with her status Erika had only been able to get a single bedroom for the six girls.

"They'll be taken care of as soon as there's an opening," Brock said when he returned to Ash, handing him a small paper cup of water. Ash drank it down in a single gulp, then asked, "What was the thing you gave her?"

Brock shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "Notification from Jenny – explaining that your pokèmon were injured during official police business and that they had priority under the state of emergency. I didn't want to use it but..."

"Thanks," Ash replied quietly, and Brock shrugged once more.

"I guess phone lines and electricity are still working then," Ash said, changing the subject as tactfully as he could. "I was wondering how you found us, but I suppose if you were with the police, you could track my pokèdex."

Brock nodded. "Well... that and when I heard there was a firefight, I knew you'd be in the middle of it," he tried to joke. Ash gave him a tight smile.

"You know me..."

Things got slightly easier after that – they each had been assigned a cot in what was normally the free public dormitory for traveling trainers too low on funds to reserve a private room. It was packed full of people, but at least they would have beds for however long they would need to wait before moving out of the chaotic city.

Unwilling to leave Pikachu and Squirtle in the miniSAFARI any longer than necessary – now under watchful guard of the Celadon Special Crisis Unit – Ash stayed indoors only long enough to have a timed three minute shower and bandage his growing collections of wounds. Stepping back gingerly into the dirty and tearing remains of his clothes, he thanked his complete apathy towards fashion – being a trainer wasn't easy, and his rather generic shirt and jeans could be easily and cheaply replaced. It was only his hat that had any meaningful significance to him.

Misty came out eventually, and Ash was relieved to find that she was accompanied by her new roommates – anything to put off the inevitable.

An hour later his hopes were dashed, when a solemn looking man with salt-and-pepper hair and a dark blue suit came up to them, showing them a badge of the Pokèmon League and asking to speak to Brock and Erika in private. The girls, sensing the tension between Ash and Misty made their excuses, leaving the two alone.

Ash let out a breath, eager to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"Misty, I'm really, _really _sorry about --"

"Shut up, Ash. I don't want to hear it," Misty bit out, hunching slightly in her seat, her hands trembling as she gripped her thermos of instant-cocoa.

"It wasn't my fault!" He bit back, the frustration leaking through. He was about to plow forward when he saw the tears sliding down Misty's cheeks. He winced, sitting down across from her.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, before looking down and fiddling with his gloves.

"I'm not mad at you," she replied, her voice soft and shaky. Ash looked up, confused.

She didn't look at him, but continued, fighting to keep her voice from cracking.

"I kept... I kept her in my bag instead of on my belt so that I wouldn't accidentally use her in a fight, ever since the... you know, the cruise."

Ash nodded – there was no forgetting the infamous cruise liner S.S. Anne, whose captain had deserted them in the midst of the storm of the century, and the subsequent capsizing – with them still on board.

"I lost my bag during our first fight – I found it when I was retracing my steps, when I went to check on your pokèmon."

Ash nodded again, a gesture of solace rather than understanding. What did this have to do...

"But I shouldn't have waited that long. When all the pokèball broke open, I didn't even notice Goldeen was missing! And now she's dead and it's all my fault. I should have noticed she was missing then, or even better I should have sent her back to the gym with Horsea. I've been so selfish, I've –"

"It's not your fault," Ash interrupted her rambling, earning him a furious gaze from the redheaded girl. "We were attacked, and then we were attacked _again. _I should have kept an eye on Primeape – I was just happy he was leaving me alone, I didn't keep an eye on him. I'm the one that messed up."

Misty sniffled, wiping a dirty hand across her tear-streaked face, leaving a smear across her cheek. "Even if you had, Goldeen would still have died being out of water so long."

Ash gave her an uncomfortable half-shrug – he had no idea what to say to _that._

"It'll be okay," he said in the end, not sure what 'it' really was. He felt guilty for Primeape's killing spree, guilty for having to kill Primeape afterwards, and guilty for worrying about these things while so many people were dead or seriously hurt. And now, he felt anger, furious that he should bear responsibility for things so far widely out of his control.

But now wasn't the time...

"We'll be okay," he repeated tiredly. He got up, needing to feel proactive. "Pikachu, Squirtle; come here," he called out, the two pokèmon breaking away from a cluster of various pokèmon that had congregated near a small crowd of visiting trainers suddenly caught in the madness. Ash reached for his backpack, pulling out Pikachu's degaussing comb and a banged up tin of _Shinishell!_ Turtlewax.

Both pokèmon let out cries of approval to this development, and Pikachu jumped into Ash's lap, giving Squirtle a small smug look as Ash ran the comb in long slow strokes down its back, releasing the buildup of static electricity in its fur. Squirtle, ever cool, gave a shrug, climbing up one of the spare chairs before falling backward on the table, soaking up the last vestiges of the afternoon sun.

Misty sighed, a small watery smile gracing her face as she watched Ash, Pikachu letting out a low grumble of pleasure as the comb ran across its flank. She reached into her own, smaller bag, pulling out a tin similar to Ash's, Staryu already hovering beside her.

They worked in companionable silence for another hour, the tension between them broken once more as they fell into a routine as old as their travels together. Pikachu, grooming complete, hopped into Misty's lap as Ash turned his attention to Squirtle, enjoying an idle scratch behind the ear from her as she continued to polish the jewel in Staryu's center. Ash propped the shell at an angle against the rim of the table as Squirtle retreated inside, the soft rag making small circles along the top of the dome.

Just as the sun began to disappear and the lights around the center lit up, Brock returned, looking ashen.

"What's happened?" Ash asked at once, putting his gear away and kicking out a vacant seat for Brock.

"Good news or bad news?" He replied, falling into the seat.

Ash and Misty exchanged a look. "Better make it the good news, first," Misty said. "You look like we'll need it."

Brock nodded. "Well the police are urging people to go home – they say if you aren't injured or from out of town, there's no reason to stay at the center or the other camps they were setting up – the situation is under control. Except for around the blast, they don't know yet how damaged the nearby buildings are."

Ash nodded, he'd been curious that the crowds hadn't gotten ever larger, but there seemed to be an answer for that.

"Why do I feel like there's a 'but' coming now," Misty sighed, flopping back in her seat tiredly, eyes searching the twilight sky as her arms lolled limply at her sides.

"Because we don't have a home here," Brock said with matched weariness. "The League has issued a quarantine order for Celadon, Saffron, and Fuchsia – nobody with League Authorization goes in or out. No pokèmon outside of a pokèball allowed out either –"

" –but that's _every_ pokèmon!" Ash replied indignantly, then looked around sheepishly as he realized just how loud he was. "That doesn't solve anything," he said in more reasonable voice.

"Not anymore it isn't," a fourth voice said softly from behind him. He turned around, relaxing when he recognized Erika. She too sat down next to him, taking the last seat at the table. "The hospital has its own power supply, they've been able to restart the pokèballs after everything shutdown... sort of," she amended.

"Which means...?"

"The Network is still down, so pokèballs aren't able to catch wild pokèmon or transport them to SAFARI, but pokèmon already in the system can be held inside. They can't be _kept _there involuntarily, but it's a start," she finished with a cheery sense of forced optimism.

Ash simply shrugged – he didn't really care one way or the other about the know-how behind it. He fought, he trained... every now and then more he'd catch another pokèmon and the cycle would begin anew. "If they took out the system both in here and in Saffron, it's going to be a long time before we can catch pokèmon again. There's no way Rocket isn't going to take advantage of that." He grumbled pessimistically.

Nobody had anything to say to that.

"So now what?" Misty asked at last, still slouched backwards.

"We wait," Brock responded tiredly. "If the pressure is starting to ease up, Ash's pokèmon should be fine tomorrow, maybe another day after. Then we'll see about getting out of town.

"Well what's she gonna do then?" Ash nodded his head towards Erika, still uncomfortable around the girl after their bad start and abortive battle.

"I'm staying here for the night," she replied, giving no notice to the coolness between them. "I need to be nearby, and our apartments were in the gym – we can't go there now. After that, I'll go wherever I'm needed in the city."

Ash nodded, that was one issue settled at least.

At that moment he felt a tug on his pants. Looking down he saw Pikachu tugging slightly at the cuff of his pants, then miming putting something in his mouth before rubbing his belly. Ash laughed.

"Yeah, I agree – enough talking, let's get some food. I guess we're on trail rations tonight – we aren't going to find anything better," he finished glumly.

They ate quickly – there was very little one could do to make dehydrated rations interesting and the conversation was already strained. Afterward, Ash took his remaining pokèmon back to the center's miniSAFARI and gave the group's dead pokèballs to the girl at the front desk who informed him needlessly cheerily that they would be in working order in an hour. His spirits perked when he asked about Charmander and Bulbasaur – apparently Brock's letter had had quite a lot of pull. Both pokèmon had been seen to and while Bulbasaur would need several days of light activity, the two would be alright. Even the knowledge that Bulbasaur could have permanent aesthetic scarring on its bulb hampered his spirits much – not after what he'd witnessed today. What mattered, he had told the suddenly anxious girl, was that Bulbasaur was going to be alright. He stayed awake for the hour, feeling a new sense of rejuvenation when the pokèballs were returned, now in some semblance of working order.

Then the exhaustion of the day had caught up with him with all the subtlety of a raging Rhydon. He had returned to the dormitory, which while still full was thankfully not nearly as crowded as he had feared it would be earlier in the day. Wrapping his jacket around his rucksack as a makeshift pillow, he turned on his cot and settled into a deep if uncomfortable sleep.

He was woken up by Brock hours later. That in itself was not strange – Brock often woke up first, getting the morning meal started until Ash and Misty awoke. They made up for it later – doing the lion's share of setting up evening camp at the end of the day, but that was beside the point. Brock waking him up was not strange.

It being pitch black outside, however, certainly was. Ash shook his head, trying to clear the haze of exhaustion that came from not having nearly as much sleep as one needed, the sort of drop dead tiredness when woken up just when sleep has been attained.

"What's going on," he yawned, still trying to get his bearings. Brock only shook his head, indicating for Ash to follow and stay quiet. Ash tried to mouth his question again, but realized that Brock had already turned away and it was impossible to see more than shadows and rough shapes anyway. Rubbing furiously at his eyes for a moment, he then picked up his jacket and rucksack, keeping as quiet as possible just a few steps behind Brock.

The main lobby was empty and dark, the only source of light being the dim emergency lighting and a tiny yellow lamp on the front desk. It was enough to see by though, and in the dull light Ash could just make out a group through the doorway to the small canteen, an enormous man standing next to a trim silhouette of a woman, and another group huddled together further back, hidden partially by the shadows.

"The gym girls," Ash whispered to Brock, recognition clicking in his sleep-deprived brain. "I don't see Misty though,"

"Right behind you," a soft whisper came from behind, causing Ash to jump up, a furious if near-silent curse prompting a hushed snicker from behind.

"Scared of the dark?" Misty asked, coming beside him.

"Grhhh, your face," he replied eloquently, yawning again. "Will someone tell me what's happening?"

"Is this the last of them?" The man said, his voice quick and gruff.

The woman, the policewoman that had helped them earlier... Jenny, nodded. "They are who they claim to be."

The man nodded curtly, his eyes never leaving them even when he spoke to Jenny. "Thank you, that'll be all. I'll meet you outside in a moment."

Ash stared. In all his experiences with the Kanto Police – and no thanks to Team Rocket there'd been many – he'd never seen one treated with such blatant dismissal. Jenny said nothing, giving him a crisp salute and walking out of the small room, closing the door to the main lobby behind her as she went.

"Ma'am, we've confirmed our worst suspicions," he began as soon as the door was closed, voice now crisp and respectful once more as he turned to Erika. "We've no doubts now that Team Rocket orchestrated this, and it has become abundantly clear that the attack on the gym was meant more for you than what it represents to the city. Once we put out the fire in the Arborium and determined that the structure was sound, we conducted a full sweep of the premises. Trace samples of poison gas were found in your living quarters, and more explosives were found in the sewer system, directly under the gym's gas line. The wiring was either a shoddy last-minute rushed job or else previously sabotaged – you were lucky."

Nobody had anything to say to that. The man, to his credit, didn't seem to expect them to.

"Furthermore, I've been instructed to give you this," he held out a cream colored envelope that Erika took with trepidation. She opened it quickly, her wide eyes clearly visible even in the dusky light.

"He must be serious, if he got a letter out from Viridian so quickly," she said, half-aloud and half to herself, as if parsing the events leading up this strange missive. "It's from Giovanni," she said aloud – there was no need to clarify _who _Giovanni was. "He's calling for a consul of all the gym leaders, to present a unified front towards the crisis... Have the others heard about this yet?"

The giant man nodded, now looking slightly bothered as he took in just how many people were hearing what he clearly believed to be a confidential conversation. Still, he answered.

"Yes ma'am – sent by his own personal Carrier Pidgeots. Nothing electronic, nothing that could get intercepted without us knowing. Good thing to – all roads in and out of Saffron are shut down, we're at an almost complete standstill. Mr. Giovanni doesn't miss a trick."

Erika and Brock nodded, and even Misty showed a hint of understanding. Ash scowled slightly – miffed at once more being on the sidelines.

The man continued. "I have a received clearance for yourself, Mr. Takeshi, and Miss Waterflower to bypass the quarantine order." He turned now to Brock and Misty, "Your order sir was sent to your gym – though once we discovered your were here as well, I was ordered to extend the order-of-bypass for yourself as well. Ma'am... your location and state of health were of course immediately sent on to your sister, who requested your special status within your gym to include the rights to negotiate at this consul. Understand your right to bypass the quarantine is conditional on your attendance. The rest of you... I am afraid I am unable to help. My apologies," He finished, not the least bit apologetic.

"I'll leave you to discuss what you wish to do. I'll be outside." With a final nod to Erika, he turned around smartly, leaving them alone.

As furious as he was, Ash kept silent at first, caught utterly flat-footing in this situation. Erika it seemed was torn between going to this spur-of-the-moment council and staying to protect both her city and the girls in her care. He guessed in the end she would relent – he remembered his impression of her from before, steel hiding behind silk. At the end of the day she'd pick the bigger picture.

He felt a small sense of vindication when she relented, and an even larger sense when Misty was clearly surprised – Brock too by his quite obvious sense of shocked relief.

That left one very important question.

"You're not going to leave me here," he hissed angrily. "I'm not going to stay behind helpless in a pokèmon center while you all go to some big important meeting. Even if I can't actually come inside," he said sullenly, "I still deserve to come along. You can't just desert me!"

Brock flushed slightly, looking sheepish. He'd been so busy arguing the merits of the gym leaders coming together, he'd forgotten Ash wasn't included. Ash buried down the sense of betrayal at being excluded – but the anger was burst out nonetheless.

"We'll come right back, Ash." Brock said with his hands raised slightly, trying to pacify. "Giovanni wants the meeting in five days time. So come morning we go to Port-of-Pallet from Vermillion, and we either get driven into Viridian or at most it's a long day's hike. A few more days to the meeting, and by that time the roads will be open to Celadon and we'll be back."

"Unacceptable," Ash replied before he'd completely finished the last word. "If you're going by boat then I'm at the very least going to come as far as Pallet. I helped fight Team Rocket today, which is more than most of those thugs telling everyone what to do can say. There's got to be some way..."

"There is... something," Erika whispered into the silence as Brock and Ash stared at one another, unrelenting. Ash turned to look at her, surprised that she would be his show of support, he regretting it as soon as he turned – by her expression it was clear that he wasn't going to like whatever he heard next.

"The pokèballs are working again, yes – but only on a most basic level. They aren't tagging or transporting pokèmon – they aren't even keeping them inside against their will. All those safeguards that keep pokèmon _in... _are part of the same system that keeps other things _out..._"

She didn't elaborate, nor did she need to. It was a common enough way of scaring the living daylights out of little children. _Be a good boy or Santa will put you in a pokèball. _There was no question what 'other things' could be.

Misty gave an uncontrolled, tiny, hollow laugh. "Who gets to ketch a ketchum?" She tried to joke, but it came out far too high-pitched. The other girls, previously talking amongst themselves when resigned to the fact they were being left behind, looked at Ash with an odd blend of unbelieving pity.

"No... _no_" Ash backpedaled, waving his hands in front of him and shaking his head emphatically. "Some _other _way."

:"Ash, I agree this is a bad idea," Brock said tiredly. "Which is why you need to stay behind. Once we leave this room, we're gone, it's that simple. They need us out of here before anybody has a chance to figure out what's happening. So either you're in a pokèball when we go to collect our own pokèmon, or you walk out with the girls and stay behind until we get back. Just stay. We'll be back soon, Ash, I promise."

"No," he gritted through his teeth. "No, I'm going to do this," he repeated, his face setting into grim determination. "Here, you'll have to get my pokèmon for me when you collect your own," he pulled the magnetic belt out of the top of his rucksack, plucking off five balls and handing them to Brock. "If you all divide them between you, nobody should have too many. And I'll..."

He paused, confusion blossoming into despair as his fingers closed onto air as he tried to pluck his sixth pokèball.

"Goddammit!" He raged, frustration mounting as everything fell apart once more. "I lost Bulbasaur's pokèball in the gym – I was keeping him in Pikachu's. Now though, if Pikachu goes in his ball and Bulbasaur goes into Primeape's –" he stumbled over the last word quickly. "Then that's all I've got. There's nothing I can do."

"Yes there is." Misty's voice sounded hollow, spooked. He turned towards her, and then to her hands, trembling slightly in front of her in a tight cup. His heart tried to leap out his throat – this was karma at its absolute worst, he was certain of it. Traveling not only in a pokèball, but one made vacant by his own pokèmon's murder.

"Throw it now, Misty," Ash whispered, his voice hoarse. "It has to be now, or I'm never going to be able to do it. Please."

Misty caught his eye, a look of understanding passing between them – a recognition that this would be a defining moment between, even if they couldn't possibly fathom yet the how of it. Misty pressed the small button halfway down the sphere, activating the ball and causing it to grow in size, roughly doubling in diameter. Then she hurled it towards Ash who kept his feet rooted to the ground, afraid that if he made even the slightest movement he'd bolt entirely.

A loud gasp filled the room as the ball his Ash in the midsection before falling to the floor. Then the world collapsed and seemed to funnel towards him, as if he were at the end of a long pipe and everything he around him was being squashed through it at a speed he could only barely register. And then everything turned to white.


	5. Chapter 4

_Kanto is a medium-sized nation, bounded by the Lesser Moon Range and the Cerulean Cape to the north, the Silver Mountains to the west, and the sea to the south and east. All told, the regions formally claimed by the Indigo League stretch some four-and-a-half thousand square miles, though much of this is unpopulated, especially to the north and west, and serves only as an official boundary. Most of the population rests within a wheel in the southeast, wherein Saffron and Celadon act as the hub. For simplicities sake, the wheel can be divided into three outer segments, west, north, and south._

_The westernmost city in Kanto is Viridian, perched on the southern edge of the Viridian Forrest from which it got its name. Prior to the incorporation of the Indigo League, Viridian was the most independent of the city-states, as its location on the far side of the Forrest made travel difficult at best. Even today, only a north-south route exists through the Forrest to Pewter – the vast wilds to the east have been left untouched and unspoiled as a natural reserve for pokèmon who intend no harm. Yet even so, with the league a proven entity of peace and stability, the occasional dissenter still pushes for further self-rule, some going so far as to suggest an independent province consisting of all land west and south of the Forrest – essentially a strip of land about thirty miles long consisting of Viridian then running south to Pallet, as well as including the facilities of its port, located at the southernmost tip of the peninsula._

_Fortunately, those in favor of this are small in number and far removed from the ordinary citizen of the western realms. The clear benefits of active league participation are obvious, and include the strong gym presence in Viridian as well as a massive and state of the art pokèmon research center in Pallet, concrete evidence of prosperity through unity._

_Finally, there is Pewter City, located at the far north-west of the wheel. Originally built as a walled fortress as a first line of defense to the evils lurking in the northern mountains, the city has since become a prosperous community. While the fort is still fully functioning in addition to the pokèmon gym, a rich community of entrepreneurs and artisans have also grown, bolstered by the many high quality quarries in the region, as well as the rich if limited farmland in the many valleys to the west and east. Other points of interest include the great Amber pits uncovered to the north, leading to the largest discovery of well preserved fossils in the history of Kanto. The discovery led to an upsurge of support for The Indigo Center for the Arts and Sciences, and soon after the National Museum of Natural History opened in the city, as well as an attached School of Natural Sciences, which offers a world class education to the best and brightest throughout Kanto._

_Together, these three cities make up the western third of the wheel, separated from the rest of Kanto by the Viridian wilds and the few narrow passes eastward through the Lesser Moons. Other than tiny and scattered communities through the foothills of the Silver Range, the only other entity of note (and what a note!) is the Chateau at Indigo, which is only mentioned here for completeness sake: a more in depth look can be found in chapter six._

_~ Kanto: The Eastern Emerald, Indigo Publishing Ltd_

* * *

Peace. Warmth.

_Bliss._

Time meant nothing. He recognized it was passing, but how much and how quickly... he had no idea, nor did he particularly care. Truth be told, it was hard to focus on anything – he was floating on a lazy stream of consciousness, aware that an outside world existed but otherwise unconcerned.

_Nothing but a blinding white light, that seemed to encompass a thousand colors he'd never even imagined. He was safe._

Occasionally, he would think of Misty. The warmth seemed to intensify when this happened, and the world outside his own would begin to make its presence known to his reality. He realized at some point that the warmth was _her, _radiating through to him from his proximity to her from her waist. He gave a soundless, joyful laugh that seemed to rock inside and around him. He was on Misty's belt! How would it feel then, to be held in her hand?

He wanted more than anything to find out.

_Nothing could ever happen to him here. Kept inside a tiny ball, he was freer than he'd ever dreamed possible. Peace. Warmth. Bliss._

He smiled inside, as well as one can smile when one's mouth doesn't technically... exist, but he _felt _smiling. Thoughts of Misty once more brought the outside world closer to him. He could hear loud rumbling noises – Brock, some hazy voice provided as if this were significant – and then _she _would speak, and he could make out words. Words though didn't matter, he needed to feel emotions.

_Love and Protect. That was all that mattered. That, and the need to live in this eternal paradise._

It was ever so warm. And Peaceful.

He smiled again, perfect Bliss.

She was worried, and the need to sacrifice this bliss to protect her bubbled inside and outside and all around him.

_Not yet, not yet, _the voice whispered back, keeping him inside. Now he frowned, and then -

A feather-light touch of fire lanced across him and he smiled. She was holding him, _him! _

Cold. Dark. _Heavy. _Being forced back into a physical form made him nauseous and he fell down, his muscles unprepared for their sudden existence and expected burden.

Without consciously processing the thought, he'd kill to go back inside. To the other place of white.

"Ash, Ash, are you alright?" The rumbling voice again, and Ash looked up, matching a face to the voice. He knew it – he also knew the other one, even though she hadn't spoken yet. Dark hair and a soft pale face, he could tell that much even as his eyes adjusted to the low glow of the moonlight. But it didn't matter.

"Ash, this isn't funny. Stop!"

_Misty. _And in her hand, the pokèball, _his _pokèball. She was looking at him, her perfect face showing concern and worry. His heart clenched, that he should be the cause of her ache. He needed to sooth her, tell her he was alright, so that she might let him go back to the white...

Something at the moment shattered inside him, and for a brief second the whole world fell upon him, a weight so heavy he cried out in despair, sure he'd never be happy again.

"Ash!"

"Brock! No, I'm fine, I'm... I'm fine," Ash took a step back, shaking his head rapidly and then focusing on Brock, unable to bear to look at Misty. "It's just a bit disorientating is all. You've got no idea... Anyway, guess I'd better let Pikachu out... where are we?" He asked at last, realizing that they were not in the brightly lit harbor of Vermillion City – or from the darkness, anywhere near the city itself.

"The southern entrance to the Old Tunnel," Brock replied while giving Ash a handful of pokèballs, sounding unenthusiastic. "Jenny got a call on the radio that the harbor was being locked down just as we reached the outskirts of the city. Absolutely rock-solid – not even League Officials allowed to come or go by the sea."

"What... that doesn't make any sense. Oh...was there another attack?" Ash asked, dreading the answer.

"No," Misty stepped forward putting a pokèball in Ash's hand before pulling away quickly, her expression visibly hurt as he flinched. "Um, no. But they've spotted a school of Gyrados sitting on the main shipping line. It's got to be a trap – Gyrados don't come up anywhere this far north, and that many... but nothing is moving until they can get enough of a force to deal with it. Even if they were wild they'd be too much to ignore. Trained..."

"And it's too long for us to wait, so we're taking the Old Tunnel," Ash said, voice hollow.

Brock nodded. "That about sums it up. We'll walk as far as the first rest zone tonight, and then get some sleep." Ash nodded back – it made sense to get well inside the Tunnel instead of camping out right outside it. Especially a group as high profile as this one seemed to be.

Misty stepped forward again, looking at him again with that unnerving concern. "Ash, what happened in there? Tell us."

She didn't understand; how even now, how much he suddenly desired to do so. _Tell us. Tell us. _Even as an unspoken desire it had pulled at him, but a direct order...

It was all but overwhelming.

"Nothing," he snapped, then quickly turning away, looking up at the entrance to the tunnel.

"Right then, let's go!" He said with forced enthusiasm, starting forwards. "Oh..." he paused, before throwing down all five pokèballs. "Everybody out!"

Erika, Brock, and Misty watched perplexed as all five of Ash's pokèmon appeared in a flash of white. Pikachu seemed pleased, letting out a happy squeak before jumping onto Ash, taking its customary perch on his shoulder. The others though seemed slightly dazed, looking up between the night sky and their trainer.

Ash gave all of them a look over, pleased to see that his weakest link at the moment – Bulbasaur – seemed fairly fit, if a little bruised and scarred. "We're going to be sleeping most of the day, so a quick stretch before we settle down," Ash explained, keeping his focus on his pokèmon and away from the other humans.

"Pidgeotto," he addressed the giant bird, getting a low hoot in response. "We're going to be underground for the most part, so I need you to do me a special favor." Ash paused, and Pidgeotto merely ruffled its feathers slightly as it waited.

"I need you to fly back to Pallet, and make sure everyone's okay there. Bring back a message – we'll be in Viridian in a few days time, and if you can't find me there then wait in Pallet Town." Pidgeotto nodded, and with a final look of confirmation from its trainer, spread it's wings and took off into the night sky.

"Well, are you all coming or not?" Ash called over his shoulder to the other three. A look passed between them, and then they moved forward, towards the entrance to the tunnel.

"You would think they would've come up with a way to make this place visible," Ash grumbled he caught his footing for the umpteenth time, stumbling around in the almost complete darkness. All four of them had heavy-duty flashlights – Erika's even better than the standard hiking model as she'd 'borrowed' it from Officer Jenny. Yet despite that, and with the added help of Charmander, it was still incredibly rough going through the underground caverns.

"It's been abandoned for a long time," Brock replied. "Any electric cables that went through here have either been stolen or gnawed apart by pokèmon."

"Great," Ash grumbled. "So for all we know, the whole thing could be caved in twenty miles from now. This was a terrible idea."

"It'll be fine," Brock reassured. "The tunnel's strong, and there are loads of built in detours built for every possible problem. There will be a way through."

Ash nodded, looking back down to the ground, carefully taking the next step. The Old Tunnel had been build in the before, when pokèmon had ruled. Originally a network of Diglett tunnels, humans had expanded the system, creating an enormous underground highway that curved around Vermillion Bay then split; one route went due north, under the even now untamed wilds between Celadon and Viridian, before coming out just south of Pewter. The other route – the one they hoped to take – went straight west, emerging on the very edge of Viridian City. Now though, the Pewter-Saffron route or the shipping lanes from Vermillion to Port-of-Pallet were quicker and much more comfortable, and the once critical lifeline had been abandoned to progress.

Except for now.

A dull red glow game from Ash's left – Misty's Starmie was adding its own contribution to their light supply, and Ash couldn't help but note that Starmie seemed to be helping him more than anyone else.

Misty also hadn't said a word for a good half-hour.

"Charmander, fall back a bit," Ash called out tiredly, and the orange pokèmon paused, looking up at Ash from its position a few paces ahead. "Let Starmie take the lead for a bit – I don't want you wearing yourself out after yesterday. Help light up the back."

Charmander looked at Ash then nodded, backtracking slightly until he it fell into step behind Ash, lighting up the area as best it could in front of the other three trainers.

He didn't catch Brock's eyeroll.

Ash gasped. The tunnels had for some time now taken to zigzagging, blocking the view of more than a few steps. Then suddenly...

There was an enormous cavern before them. The tunnel itself had never been more than ten feet high, and at best wide enough for them all to have walked side-by-side, had Ash not been determined to stay ahead. Now though, there was a space at least as large as a pokèmon center lobby, and the rocky ceiling was tall enough that Ash was sure that Onix could fit, even if only just.

And what's more, he could see it. Tiny speckles of light shone throughout the chamber, like little stars hammered into the rock itself.

"It's beautiful," Misty gasped as she came with the other from behind. "What are they," she asked in an amazed whisper.

"I don't know," Brock replied, Ash could make out the shadow of a frown in the dim light. "Jenny never mentioned it, but then I don't know how long it's been since people have really been down here. We're a good couple if miles in. I'll find out when we get to Viridian, someone there will know. Whatever it is, it's also dampening the echo. We should sound really loud in here."

"It's a shame," Erika said, and Ash jerked towards her. He realized sheepishly that even now, he was surprised whenever she made her presence known. Though that would probably change after a few days in the tunnel... it seemed he has as many gym badges as he had gym _leaders, _he thought to himself with an amused internal chuckle.

"... something so beautiful shouldn't be forgotten," she finished, her hand tracing across the wall, running over the small stones that glowed from within.

"_I _know what these are!" Ash cried out, suddenly very smug. "They're elemental stones – or some form of one, anyway. They must have mined them from here when they expanded the tunnel. These are just the remnants, too small to be any use to pokèmon."

"How did you know that?" Misty asked, genuinely impressed. "I... I don't know what to say. Well done, Ash," Misty finished, giving him a grin.

Ash grinned back, the atmosphere lighter than it had been since the whole mess started. "I'll have you know I know everything about pokèmon," he said proudly, giving Pikachu an enormous grin. "And in Vermillion, I had the chance to use a thunder stone, but Pikachu didn't want to and we won without it because Pikachu's the best!"

"Right," Misty snorted. "Somebody you'd never met before wanted you to win so badly they just gave you a priceless stone – which you refused. If you say so," she sing-songed.

"Did too!" Ash replied, his repertoire of retorts exhausted.

"Did not," Misty stuck out her tongue, falling into the old pattern.

"Children!" Brock interrupted. "As we we're saying," He gestured to Erika and himself. "We'll spend the night...well day, here. We'll need to pick up the pace a bit when we start again, it's at least another two days worth of walking and that's if everything goes well and we keep a good pace without much light."

"Yeah, yeah" Ash mumbled. The good mood was broken, and Ash and Misty shared an uncomfortable look before Ash pulled away.

He set out his sleeping bag, already regretting how he would feel tomorrow sleeping on solid rock. Then he looked around at his four remaining pokèmon who had congregated around him, looking up expectantly.

"No pokèballs tonight," he said, unzipping his sleeping bag to make it more like a blanket. "Anyone who wants to is welcome to share this... I'll make sure to buy something a bit bigger when we get into town. But no more pokèballs, not unless absolutely necessary.

A low rumbling at that, though Ash noted Pikachu and Squirtle seemed clearly thrilled at this. In the end only Pikachu nested in a corner of the bag – though it had been doing so since forever. Squirtle withdrew into his shell, and Bulbasaur fell asleep next to Charmander's tail, which the firelizard had wrapped around itself as it too had sprawled on the cool stone.

By rights he should have been exhausted – more so than any of the others. Instead, he caught himself staring into Charmander's flame, knowing full well he'd endure hell tomorrow, trying to walk through the darkness half-dead. He still felt the gloom of being outside the pokèball. He grabbed his belt from the pouch on the rucksack where he kept it at night. Five tiny balls – he shuddered, wondering if it was always like that, inside. He looked at Pikachu, curled between his feet. Pikachu certainly hated the pokèball, but he'd never thought to find out from the others, assuming their acceptance as consent. When he was alone, he'd ask them, soon as he had the chance.

He wanted to break them, smash the tiny balls. Instead he put them back in the rucksack, then slithered out of the bag-cum-blanket, feeling suddenly restless. He moved to the opposite wall of the cavern, away from the others, watching the tiny not-quite-flickering specks of light. He didn't know if all stones shone this slightly off-color orange, or if it was unique to the thunder stone. Something to think about, he supposed idly.

He heard a soft pitter-patter right behind him, and then he felt more than saw someone sit down next to him – close enough to reach out and touch but not quite so close as to be intimate. He took a breath, rubbing his eyes and preparing to tell Misty that she ought to go back to sleep.

He turned, and it wasn't Misty at all. He stuttered for a moment, tripping over his intended words. In the end he said nothing, giving her a slight glare, before half-looking back at the sparkling flecks.

Half-looking, because he did catch her amused smile at his floundering.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked in a soft whisper, not quite looking at him now but also staring at the wall. "Silly question," she said when he simply shrugged, and the two sat in silence for a moment, watching the not-quite-tinkling of the stones.

"Bulbasaur is very impressive," she started anew, though her focus never moved away from the wall. "Many trainers tend to ignore exercising a grass-pokemon's vines as they become more experienced fighters, which is something I'm often able to exploit with Tangela. But you've clearly trained Bulbasaur well. And more importantly, you fought for one another."

Ash smiled slightly, reflecting. "When I first met Bulbasaur a few months ago, it was guarding a small village of weak and injured wild pokèmon. It thought I was trying to steal its friends. It didn't want to fight with me, it just wanted to fight."

Ash looked over his shoulder, the reduced flame of Charmander's tail just visible, casting a dim light across the giant bulb and sending shadows flickering over Bulbasaur's face. "We've worked hard since then though, all of us. When we get out of here, maybe we can battle again," Ash froze, paling in the darkness as he remembered _why _he was several miles in an underground tavern.

"Or not..." he mumbled, the once warming space between them seeming to close off once again.

"No, I'd like that," Erika hastened to reply, causing Ash to turn when she touched his shoulder. "I always wish to battle trainers from whom I can learn – even a gym trainer seeks to improve, after all."

"Learn, from me?" Ash felt his chest puff slightly as he turned a thankfully invisible shade of light pink. "Well... I suppose I've been doing a few things right all this time. Charmander's flamethrower has been a bit erratic, so I've come up with a target practice system using Bulbasaur's Razorleaf – gives them both practice and... well, you'll see. And I bet I could learn a thing or two from your Gloom or Tangela." Ash gave himself a private pat on the back for remembering to return the compliment. _And Misty thinks I'm dense. Dense like a Golem, maybe!_

"Plus, I still haven't won the Rainbow Badge."

And maybe Misty was right... He felt a sudden overwhelming desire to bite out his tongue. _Same mistake twice in two minutes: A record, Ashy-boy._

"Yes you have," she replied, her voice suddenly serious as she looked at him directly for the first time, staring at him in the dusky light. "The badge is a symbol – it shows the league that the gyms have faith in your ability to fight and work with your pokèmon. Obviously, that leads to the right to compete in the championship, and such an honor requires an objective measurement, a victory against each gym leader in a pokèmon battle."

"Which I didn't do," Ash replied, uncomfortable with the talk that surely opened still running wounds – not even a day old. "It won't mean anything if I take it."

"On the contrary, it means _more. _Because what you did wasn't win a match. You won my trust, as one trainer to another. Think about that, Ash."

He thought. Even so, it grated.

"I do get it.. I _do,_" he repeated exasperatedly when she gave him a skeptical look. "But... I'll accept your badge, only if you'll accept that we battle first."

Erika smiled. "Deal."

He relaxed – the whole time he'd been dreading she'd confront him about the incident in her shop and they'd be back to square one. Maybe not all girls were quite as aggressive and quick to retaliate as Misty – though he caught himself on that, Erika _had _started it.

He kept these thoughts to himself – he had no intention of pressing for third time unlucky.

Instead she spoke on in a one-sided conversation, with Ash occasionally nodding or murmuring in agreement. Light talk – mostly involving her methods of care for grass-types.

"So who is with us?" Ash finally asked after she'd waxed poetic about the gym's small colony of Bellsprout.

"Only Gloom and Tangela," she replied sadly. "Anything we come across is going to be much more dangerous than a controlled battle, and the young ones for the most part are not yet fully trained to fight even then. Exeggutor and Victreebel stayed behind to protect the girls and the other pokèmon. Then she smiled. "Though for a few hours, I'm told I also possessed a very well behaved Squirtle and Pidgeotto."

Ash rolled his eyes, grabbing his cap from his head and picking at the brim idly with his fingers. "Pidgeotto, sure, but I've never heard anyone refer to Squirtle as well behaved."

She gave a short, soft giggle, quickly suppressing it with a hand over her mouth as she turned towards the two still-sleeping figures against the far wall, or where they would have been if they could see them amongst the shadows.

"It will be nice to be out of these caves," she said when they had calmed down again. "You're lucky Bulbasaur is as much animal as it is plant. Without sunlight, Gloom and Tangela don't dare come out of their pokèballs for any length of time down here. It will be nice to get back in the sun. Gloom especially doesn't like it – I've never kept her in one for very long."

Ash tensed, a seed of suspicion forming in his head that this was full circle – her original intention back when she'd asked him "Can't Sleep?"

"Pikachu neither," he replied tonelessly.

She simply nodded, taking no apparent note of his change. "Yes, I noticed that. It seemed incredibly affectionate when you were reunited. Another pokèmon you fought with before you became friends?" She asked, teasing.

"You have no idea," He grumbled good-naturedly.

"You'll have to tell me some time," she said, then yawned, failing to quite cover it with a hand. "But it will have some time later... I think I need to go to sleep. You ought to get some too."

Ash nodded. Standing up with her as she got up, heading back to her own sleeping bag.

"Night, Ash," she said sleepily before turning around. He could just make her out as she reached her bag, and he headed towards his own pokèmon.

He was still parsing what had transpired when he fell asleep.

As he had feared, he felt like death warmed over when Brock woke him sometime in what he guessed to be early afternoon. "Sorry," Brock said, not at all apologetic but at least making an effort of recognition. "We've got to get moving though – if we're getting there on foot now we don't have time to waste."

"Mmm, right," Ash drawled back, though the effect was lost in an enormous yawn. "Forty miles underground, wouldn't want to sleep through it."

"Better than sleeping through and left _behind _in a cave forty miles from the exit." Brock quipped sagely, handing Ash a thermos of re-hydrated mintberry juice. He took one giant gulp, wincing at the bitter taste but almost immediately feeling the worst of the exhaustion fading away. "That'll help for a few hours," he said after swallowing the liquid, shuddering slightly as the aftertaste continued to pummel his mouth. Brock nodded, handing him a second thermos, this one thankfully filled with pure water.

"Save some," he cautioned as Ash took one giant gulp. "There's supposed to be an underground stream in here about fifteen, twenty miles in, but I'd rather we save the water until we know it's drinkable." Ash nodded, his cheeks ballooned like a hamster as he swirled the water around his mouth, knowing he wouldn't get the coveted second drink anytime soon.

"Not my fault mintberry tastes like Raticate piss," he grumbled to Brock, earning him a short bark of a laugh from the older boy.

"Like I always say, they knew it needed some mint somewhere, but the only place –"

" – that they could put it was the name. I know. Right, I'm awake now." Ash got up slowly, Pikachu giving an annoyed squeak as it too was woken up.

He quickly squared away his rucksack, joining the other three around an almost-flat topped boulder where the others were doing the best to enjoy crushed and days-old riceballs – the lack of firewood making the more tasty trail rations inedible.

They were soon moving again, trying to keep up a reasonable pace as they stumbled in the darkness, led only by the light of Charmander and two of the four flashlights. While it made traveling substantially more difficult, Misty had pointed out the folly of using all their light sources at once, especially when Starmie couldn't hope to keep up the entire length of the tunnel, and the flashlights had no spare batteries at the moment – something they'd forgotten about in the rush of leaving Celadon.

And so they walked in an narrow line, Ash leading more due to his ownership of Charmander than anything else. The others followed closely behind, with Bulbasaur and Squirtle bringing up the rearguard, there sharp eyes better adapted than the humans'.

To the group's delight, several hours later they passed another cavern, smaller than before but with the same ethereal quality of the elemental dust. Even more importantly, they found the promised water spring.

"It's so fresh!" Misty cooed as she was the first to dare a drink from the small spring. "And cold too!"

So refreshed and refilled, they moved forward once more, marking more slow and stumbling hours in the tunnels as they pushed on. Then Charmander stopped, the cavern suddenly much darker as it swooped its tail downward against the floor.

"What's wrong," Ash asked, trying in vain to see through the rock and shadows. "What's there?"

Charmander didn't look at him, only continued to look forward, a low rumble coming from its chest.

After a moment, Ash realized he didn't actually need to _see. _Fishing into the one still-usable pocket of his jacket until Brock had the time to stitch it up, he pulled out his pokèdex. Feeling slightly foolish, he held it in front of him, waving it around as the red beam on the side tried to 'catch' whatever was lurking in the darkness.

_Scanning. _Ash felt both relief and anxiety as the screen flashed once. Then remembering where he was, he quickly punched the mute – now was not the time for an actual lecture, he'd make do with reading.

_Diglett, the mole pokèmon. Please press a tab for more information..._

Ash sighed in relief. "Just a Diglett or two – I guess they've come back, now that people aren't here anymore."

"Let's just move on then," Brock called out from behind. "They shouldn't bother us if we leave them alone."

"Please, they're just Diglett," Ash scoffed, eyes flickering to the absurd image of the creature his pokèdex was now flashing. "We could run into an army of Dugtrio without a worry, the number of grass and water pokèmon we have in this group."

"Oh really, Ash?" Misty replied, amused. "Well I suppose a trainer like you would be more than happy to hide behind to gym trainers – even if they were both girls,"

Ash ignored her, earning laughs from the rest of the group.

"The fork should be coming up any time now," Erika said, redirecting the conversation. "Remember we want the left turn – otherwise we'll end up north of the Viridian Forrest."

"With Ash leading, we're doomed," Misty replied gravely.

"Please," Ash scoffed back. "If we're near the fork, that means we're at least half of the way through. I haven't gotten us lost once!"

"Hard to get lost when there's only one way to go," Misty shot back.

"For you, maybe!"

Nobody knew quite how to respond to that.

"The fork was added to connect the natural tunnels," Brock said instead. "So I'm hoping it's a decent sized space – maybe even has another spring. We've made good distance today, all things considered. If it's a good spot, we'll stop there again – a six hour sleep and then we'll move on again. Agreed?"

Ash shrugged – the slow pace irked, but they'd been walking for a long time now, and they had covered as much ground as he'd dared hope given the conditions. He'd keep going if he had to though, as he knew his pokèmon would, he thought with a gritty smile to himself.

"As long as it's _only _six hours," Erika interjected. "I'm not comfortable wasting time in these caves," her voice had hardened slightly and Ash rankled at the tone, as if she didn't trust them to have a serious ethic when this is what they did, day in-day out on the roads.

_Just when we'd cleared the air,_ he thought tiredly.

"We keep a tight schedule," Misty replied with faux-politeness, and Ash smirked as he recognized Erika's tone had grated her as well. "Six hours and then back to it – we've done things like this before."

Ash's smirk grew when Erika didn't reply.

"We've done well today," Brock, ever the diplomat, continued. "I make it a bit over twenty miles since we set out. It's now..." A small circle of light indicated Brock was checking his watch. "Just after nine, so we've put in a good day, and made really good progress considering some of the what we had to go through. So as soon as we get to an appropriate spot – and I really am hoping it's the fork – we'll pause."

Then the ground shook.

"What was that!" Ash yelled, clutching at the rock wall to his right. The ground shook again, and he felt death grip, the certainty that they could not survive in these tunnels if the walls collapsed, ton upon ton of stone pressing in.

Anger then filled him, especially when he suddenly felt an overarching desire to dive into a pokèball. It would not happen!

"Run!" Misty supplied helpfully, and he tore himself away from the wall, doing exactly that. The ground shook again as they tried to escape. The walls began to telescope outward, so that they were no longer confined to a line, but were now running almost together, a fast (quicker) moving human and pokèmon blob.

A wheezy cry from behind made Ash stop, the others filing past him. "Bulbasaur!" Ash shouted, turning to see the blue and spotted pokèmon being half-dragged by an exhausted Squirtle. Furious, he tore two pokèball from his belt. "I'm really sorry," he began, before activating both balls, a red light from each enveloping the two exhausted pokèmon.

"Ash, come on!" Misty's urgent scream brought him back to the moment, and he turned, racing to catch up with the others as he reattached the balls to their magnetic holster.

The ground shook, and then it _didn't._

There was no ground anymore, but a shifting feeling beneath his feet, like trying to run on very fine sand. With horror he began realized what was happening.

"They're digging – help!" He screamed out, flailing wildly as he tried to regain his balance. The others turned around fully now, and he truly appreciated how bad his position must be that Charmander abandoned its flight, instinctively running now towards its trainer and friend. Then he heard Erika's voice amongst the din of shifting rock.

"Tangela, wrap the boy, now!"

Two vines shot towards him, wrapping firmly around his midsection. He noted the lack of the finely-shaped tips, the strongest and most dextrous parts of the vines clearly had not yet had time to grow back. He hoped that his improvisational tactical masterstroke wouldn't endanger his life now...

Contemplation didn't last; the floor gave out completely.

As Ash felt his feet give way beneath him, three things happened. Charmander jumped, earning a squeal from Tangela as its already battered vines were subject to the scrabbling claws as Charmander tried to avoid disemboweling Ash and still grab hold of _something. _Tangela, now attached to a human and a very uncooperative (and fire breathing!) lizard, tumbled forward too, all while trying desperately to unwrap itself, despite its trainers orders. And finally, as it too was dragged towards the growing pit, Erika grabbed out, clutching uselessly onto Tangela's body as she tried in vain to anchor it.

And so Brock and Misty watched in horror as Ash, Charmander, Tangela, and Erika fell into the void, like some dark and lethal stack of dominoes, one right after the other. Pikachu let out a scream as it flailed in Misty's arms. As the ground continued to hiss and crack, survival kicked in once more and made all future decisions moot.

They ran.


End file.
